


Summer of Some Regret

by thatshot



Category: NCT (Band), NCT Dream
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Summer, Underage Drinking, dreamies only, jisung juuls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-09 10:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16448015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatshot/pseuds/thatshot
Summary: San Francisco kids go wild the summer before college.





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> cross posted on aff under the same user

There was one thing about Lowell High School, the most prestigious and difficult public school in the San Francisco school district, was that it brought the strangest groups of friends together. Between the at least twice weekly tests, long days, and pressure from both teachers and other students, friendships needed to be formed to survive. That was how the three boys found each other.

Mark, the golden boy. Student body president, well known among his peers for being generally nice, smart, and hardworking. He may have been a little dorky and virginal, but teachers adored him, and he was well liked by his classmates.

Renjun, the invisible kid. He wasn’t in any clubs, had average grades and did average work (for Lowell). At any other school he would’ve been considered one of the smartest kids, but after four years of being average, Renjun couldn’t care less about that crap any more.

Chenle, the funny kid. The class clown of his year, he had lots of friends of all groups and ages. He did average in school too, but popularity mattered more to him than grades.

Renjun and Mark were finally done with Lowell forever, and Chenle had one more year left to go. They may have had other friends, but they were each other’s truest.

“I can’t believe that it’s the summer before college, and all we’ve done is sit around Mark’s living room and play mario kart,” Renjun groaned.

“I’m not going to college next year!” Chenle cheered in response.

“Excuse me, I’d quite like to spend my entire summer playing Mario Kart, thank you very much,” Mark quipped, speeding ahead of the other two boys to win the round. “And Chenle, we all know.”

Renjun sighed and passed the finish line too, Chenle finishing right behind him.

“We are literally the definition of bland Lowell High School kids. We never get out, never have fun. We spent all of high school stressing out about grades and trying to get into a good college. Now that’s over, why don’t we at least try to have fun?”

“You’re acting like all our hard work was pointless. You and I worked hard to go to Lowell, the best high school in the entire district. I worked really hard to be class president, you know, and I’m proud of it,” Mark responded. Renjun put down his controller and Chenle scooted away from the two of them.

“Come on, don’t you think there’s more to life than this?” Renjun asked.

“Are you saying you just want to waste your life away partying?”

“Maybe not my life. But I want to waste this summer away partying; that’s for sure. I want to see what it’s like. Plus, we live in San Francisco for fuck’s sake! We should explore all that the city has to offer,” Renjun rebutted.

“And anyways, not all Lowell kids are goody two shoes like us,” Mark spoke.

“That’s true,” Chenle finally spoke. “One day I saw Park Jisung from my grade cutting class and juuling in the gender neutral bathroom.

“Mark, we might as well party while we still have friends. You and I both know we’re going to be pretty lonely when we go off to college.”

“Not me!” Chenle interjected, oblivious to their entire conversation.

Renjun sighed, yet again. “My crazy middle school friends invited me to hang out with them today. I haven’t seen them since eighth grade, but they were already wild. I think we could have some fun with them.”

Mark smirked. “So... this was an entire ploy to get me to come with you because you were too nervous to go by yourself?” Renjun grimaced but nodded, and Chenle and Mark laughed.

“I was serious about what I said though!” Renjun whined.

“When did they want you to hang out?” Mark asked.

“Today at 3-ish at Dolores Park.”

“Let’s go then!” Chenle responded excitedly.

“W-wait.... are you sure?” Renjun asked hesitantly.

“Yes!” Chenle responded, giving Mark’s hesitant face a sharp look.

“Y-yeah,” Mark added.

“Awesome! Let’s go!” Renjun spoke excitedly. “I’m honestly really excited to see them.” Chenle cheered, and Mark just grimaced.


	2. 1

The three boys got off of the M train at Church Street station and began to walk down the street to Dolores Park, the big grassy park in the sunniest and coolest district in San Francisco, the Mission.

“So who are these middle school friends of yours?” Chenle asked as Mark nervously fidgeted with his jacket.

“Their names are Jaemin and Jeno. They dated all through middle school. I don’t know if they’re still together, but they still hang out. They’re crazy though; in middle school we’d all paint our nails then shut all the windows and doors to get high off of the fumes.”

“That.... is actually crazy,” Mark responded.

“Where do they go to school?” Chenle asked.

“Gateway.”

“The charter school?” Mark asked.

“Yeah, the school for artsy kids who couldn’t get into SOTA. Oh yeah, Jaemin and Jeno said there would be a few more of their friends as well,” Renjun explained.

They finally reached the fairly crowded park, full of tourists eating ice cream, kids screaming, and groups of teens smoking weed and buying it from the old men in the hidden corners. The boys scanned around with their eyes until Renjun pointed off into the distance.

“I think that’s them,” he spoke, and the boys trudged up the hill until they reached a group of four fashionably dressed boys.

“Oh my god Renjun! You look so hot!” One of them spoke, jumping up excitedly and wrapping Renjun in a tight hug. The new boys looked up at this with blank faces. He pulled away quickly and looked over his old friend. “The glow up is real.”

“Thanks Jaemin,” Renjun responded, chuckling awkwardly, thinking about how he hadn’t changed a bit.

“Stop flirting babe,” another boy called from a spot on the grass, gripping the neck of a half drunk wine glass.

“Jeno, come on, it’s Renjun! Remember when we all made out in like the eighth grade?”

“How could I forget, love? Now that was hot,” the boy apparently named Jeno responded.

“How could you.... all make out at once?” Mark interjected, interrupting the little reunion.

“Oh honey, you had to be there,” the one named Jaemin spoke.

“Oh yeah! These are my friends, Chenle and Mark,” Renjun introduced. Chenle waved enthusiastically, and Mark gave them smile that ended up turning into a grimace.

“Well, I’m Jaemin,” he introduced. He was wearing light wash jeans, a Britney Spears t-shirt, visible hickeys, and well worn checkered vans. “That’s my boyfriend, Jeno,” Jaemin added. Jeno had on a plain t-shirt and a pair of jeans with the biggest pant legs Mark had ever seen. He had at least three chains attached to these pants and his eyes glued to Jaemin’s frame. “This is our friend Donghyuck,” Jaemin said, gesturing to a boy with a pretty tan, doc martens, and a patched and pinned up denim jacket.

“Yo,” Donghyuck spoke, staring right at Mark. Mark quickly turned his head away. Donghyuck was really handsome, and Mark didn’t want him to see him blush.

“And that’s Jisung,” Jaemin spoke. He pointed to a boy wearing a crop top and a choker, a sketchbook and pen in one hand and a juul in the other. Renjun sat down in front of Jeno, looking up at where Jaemin was pointing.

“You were in my chem class!” Chenle spoke. Jisung looked up at Chenle, and the lightbulb of recognition lit up his eyes.

“Oh yeah,” Jisung responded in a soft voice. “I didn’t go that much though,” he added and chuckled.

“Yeah, one time I saw you juuling in the gender neutral bathroom during class,” Chenle said with a giggle.

“It gets pretty lit in there,” Jisung said with a knowing smile. Chenle sat down next to Jisung, leaning back in the grass. Chenle was now with Jisung, the two of them talking about the gossip in their grade. Renjun was already sitting near Jaemin and Jeno, so Mark sat down next to him to pretend he was involved in the conversation.

“Where did you get the alcohol?” Renjun asked as Jaemin took a swig from the wine bottle Jeno had been holding earlier.

“Stole it,” Jeno simply explained. Mark grew wide eyed but Renjun seemed unfazed.

“You’ve worked your way up from the candy bars you used to steal in eighth grade,” Renjun commented.

“He’s gotten really good at it,” Jaemin said. “One time he made out of Target with a six pack of beer and three t-shirts.”

“Fuck capitalism,” Jeno spoke.

Just as Mark was going to make an excuse to hide out in the bathroom, he received a tap on the shoulder.

“Sit with me,” Donghyuck said softly, and Mark was grateful for the escape from the conversation he wasn’t even a part of.

But now, since everyone else was wrapped up in their own conversations, Mark was basically alone with Donghyuck. He wasn’t the best at starting conversations, let alone keeping them going, plus Donghyuck was pretty intimidating.

“What school do you go to?” Donghyuck asked, and Mark was relieved.

“Lowell. But I just graduated in May.”

“Oh shit, we’re in the same grade. I went to SOTA.”

“What for?”

“Musical theatre.”

“You’re so fuckin’ gay, Donghyuck,” Jaemin shouted, interrupting their conversation. “Literally going to the art school for musical theatre.” Donghyuck just shrugged off the light teasing, and Mark stared down at the grass. Donghyuck actually liked guys, and even though Mark knew he was way out of Donghyuck’s league, at least he could pretend he had a chance.

As he was staring at the grass he noticed Donghyuck’s hands. His fingers were bumpy with callouses, probably from playing guitar, and his fingers had little drawings on them in between the first and second knuckle.

“Did you draw on your hand?” Mark asked.

Donghyuck laughed. “No, those are stick and pokes.”

“Tattoos?” Mark asked after a long pause.

“Mhmm.”

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen,” Donghyuck responded.

“How did you get those?” Mark asked with surprise.

“My friends did them for me. Jisung did most of them, actually. He’s a great artist.” Donghyuck responded. Jisung looked over and gave them a little salute before turning back to Chenle.

Mark was strangely fascinated by the tattoos. He couldn’t stop staring at them, but maybe that was because Donghyuck had nice hands.

“What do they mean?” Mark asked, sort of shyly, but Donghyuck smiled and held out his hands.

He first pointed out his thumbs. “I have the woman symbol on my right thumb, and the man symbol on my left. Since I’m bi. The rest of them don’t really have meaning; I just thought they looked cool.” He took away his right hand and stuck out his left.

“On this hand I’ve got a flower, the Gemini symbol, a heart, and a smiley face. The other hand is all space stuff. Saturn, the sun, a crescent moon, a star.” Donghyuck showed Mark both of his hands, Mark staring down at them, before Donghyuck took both of Mark’s hands in his.

“I think they’d look good on you too. You have nice hands,” Donghyuck spoke, looking up into Mark’s eyes. Mark made quick eye contact before looking back down at the ground, his cheeks flaming. Donghyuck’s eye contact was so intense and Mark wasn’t used to this much human contact.

“What’s your star sign?” Donghyuck asked in a soft tone.

“Stop flirting, Hyuck,” Jeno spoke with an eye roll. Mark looked at Jeno with surprise. Had Donghyuck been flirting with him?

“Why not?” Donghyuck whined back, and Mark looked surprise. He’d never gotten this kind of attention before. Mark may have had a lot of friends in high school, but he wasn’t exactly popular with the girls. Not that it mattered much, Mark was sure he was gay, but guys didn’t flirt with him either. He was perpetually single, and hadn’t even been kissed since his freshman year of high school.

“Because he’s pure and nice,” Jeno responded, Jaemin hugging him tightly until the couple toppled over in the grass.

“I’m nice. Maybe not pure, but nice. Anyways, if I have to stop flirting, then you and Jaemin have to stop with the PDA. We’re in public, you know,” Donghyuck said. Jeno and Jaemin gave Donghyuck a look, sitting up together and untangling their limbs. Donghyuck turned back to Mark with a sigh.

“Anyways.... your star sign,” Donghyuck spoke, his hand still on Mark’s. Mark was too overwhelmed by the fact that Donghyuck was even flirting with him to move his hand away.

“Oh! I’m a Leo,” Mark said with a shy chuckle.

Donghyuck hummed. “Huh. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a Leo. But I guess I don’t know you well enough to say yet. And anyways, what really counts are the moon and rising signs.” Donghyuck finally moved his hand away, digging in his backpack for something. He pulled out a metal device that sorta looked like a vape.

“Anyways, Leos are compatible with Geminis. And that’s what’s important to me,” he added, pressing a button on the device and putting his mouth around it. After a slight pause, he breathed out a light, mostly scentless smoke.

“Is that a vape?” Mark asked, trying to ignore Donghyuck’s statement about their compatibility.

“No fucking way,” Donghyuck responded. “It’s my dab pen.” Mark gave him a confused look. “Weed,” Donghyuck explained further.

“O-oh,” Mark stammered.

“Want some?”

“I’ve never tried... but okay,” Mark said softly. Honestly, he was curious. And these people seemed nice; he was sure they wouldn’t take advantage of him.

“You totally don’t have to. I don’t wanna pressure you or anything,” Donghyuck responded.

“No, I wanna try,” Mark said after a beat. He was grateful Donghyuck gave him an out, but his curiosity was getting stronger.

“Alright,” Donghyuck spoke, passing it to him. “Put this part in your mouth. Press the button and suck in at the same time.” Mark nodded and did as Donghyuck said, coughing almost immediately.

Donghyuck chuckled and passed him a water bottle. “This isn’t alcohol, I promise.” Mark took the water bottle and gratefully took a sip.

“My first weed,” he spoke in a strained voice.

Donghyuck smiled back at him. “Your first weed.”

“Ooh, is that your dab pen? Can I have a hit?” Jaemin asked.

“Sure,” Donghyuck responded, and Mark passed it over to him.

“Want this in exchange?” Jeno asked, holding up the now almost empty wine bottle. Donghyuck shook his head.

“When does it kick in?” Mark asked.

“Wait a few minutes,” Donghyuck responded, looking at Mark absentmindedly.

Jeno passed the dab pen back to Donghyuck once he and Jaemin had a hit (Renjun said he’d already had enough alcohol), and Jisung immediately waved for it.

“Trade for the juul?” Jisung asked.

“You know I don’t smoke that shit. Real cigarettes only for me. Go big or go home,” Donghyuck responded.

“You barely even smoke cigs. Only when you’re really drunk,” Jaemin responded.

“You’re not cool, Donghyuck,” Jeno added.

“Shut up,” Donghyuck responded, but he was laughing. The sound of it made Mark smile.

“I’m fucking whipped,” Mark mumbled under his breath.

“What?” Donghyuck asked.

Mark shook his head. “Nothing.” Donghyuck seemed satisfied for a moment before leaning in closer to Mark. His whole body froze stiff, his heart pounding in his chest as sweat seemed to seep out of every pore.

“Your eyes are fuckin’ red,” Donghyuck mumbled, the simple phrase sounding so seductive from Donghyuck’s lips.

Words seemed to fail in the moment; and Mark wasn’t sure if it was from the nerves or the drugs. Mark simply nodded in response, and Donghyuck just smiled and backed away.

“Shit, it’s starting to get dark,” Renjun said, staring up at the sky.

“Ugh, your parents are still strict?” Jaemin whined, and Renjun nodded.

“Yeah, they need me home before dark.”

“Are your parents strict too?” Donghyuck asked Mark. Mark scoffed and nodded.

“They’re worse than Renjun’s,” Mark responded.

“I’ve heard about Renjun’s parents, so I can’t imagine what yours are like.” Mark grimaced and nodded.

“Alright, we’ve gotta head home,” Renjun spoke, standing up and groaning. “Fuck, I’m kinda drunk,” he added.

“And I’m...high,” Mark said slowly, Renjun helping him stand.

“Chenle, let’s go,” Renjun called.

“Come on!” Chenle whined, looking up from Jisung’s sketchbook. “My parents don’t care.”

“But my parents do. And your parents call my parents if you’re not home, and then they’ll be mad at me for not looking after you,” Renjun responded.

“I’m not a baby,” Chenle grumbled, but stood up anyways.

“Well, bye guys!”

“Aw Renjunnie! This was lit as fuck,” Jaemin cheered, standing up to give Renjun a wobbly, tipsy hug.

“We’ve gotta hang out more,” Jeno added.

“It was nice meeting you all!”

“You too, Jaemin and Jeno and Donghyuck,” Chenle responded to Jaemin.

“B-bye guys,” Mark stuttered, giving Donghyuck a smile and a wave.

“Wait, do you have snap?” Donghyuck asked. Mark nodded, and Donghyuck stood up to add him. When he was done, Donghyuck sat back down and smiled at Mark.

“I’ll snap you,” he said, and Mark grinned back.

“Cool,” he responded, holding back squeals of excitement.

“Stop staring at each other, you damn lovebirds. Mark has to get home,” Renjun spoke, tearing him away.

“Bye!” Chenle shouted back to the others as they walked out of the park.

A chorus of byes came from their new friends before they walked back to their bus stop.

“That was....eventful,” Mark spoke.

“For sure. I got drunk in a public park at four in the afternoon,” Renjun said.

“I inhaled enough second hand juul to give me a nicotine high,” Chenle added.

“And Donghyuck asked for my snap!” Mark said, more excitedly than Chenle or Renjun had seen him in a long time.

“He was pretty cute,” Chenle spoke.

“Is our poor sad single Markiepoo going to finally get a boyfriend?” Renjun teased. Usually, Mark would’ve clapped back at Renjun, but his mind was too cloudy and there were way too many butterflies in his stomach.

“Maybe,” Mark responded in a dreamy tone. Renjun and Chenle groaned loudly.


	3. 2

“Jaemin and Jeno asked if we all wanted to hang out tonight,” Renjun spoke. It was a few days since they’d all met at Dolores Park. Although things had mostly returned to normal for Mark, Renjun, and Chenle, the idea that they could go out and be wild with their new friends made everything that much more exciting. Plus, Mark now had a new friend in Donghyuck. They already had a three day Snapchat streak.

“Tonight? It’s already eleven pm; our parents won’t let us out this late,” Mark responded.

“We’re already crashing at Chenle’s anyways. Your parents won’t snitch us out to our parents, right?” Renjun asked Chenle.

“Yeah; they’ll be cool. They like you guys,” Chenle responded.

“Alright, awesome. I’ve confirmed our plans. We’re gonna meet them at Chenle’s.”

“Will Donghyuck be there?” Mark asked nervously.

“Ask him yourself. He’s your damn boyfriend,” Renjun responded.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Mark protested with red ears.

“Not yet, at least,” Renjun responded as Mark reluctantly typed out a message to Donghyuck.

Are you hanging out with Jeno and Jaemin tonight? Mark typed.

Duh, Donghyuck almost immediately replied. Wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m excited to see you again

“What’s with that smile?” Renjun asked as Mark beamed at his phone.

“Donghyuck is excited to see me!” Mark cheered in response. “But what do I say to that? I wanna let him know I’m excited too but I don’t wanna come off as over enthusiastic or clingy but I don’t want him to think I’m disinterested, you know?”

“Just say ‘you too’. Simple and casual,” Renjun responded.

“But that sounds like I don’t care,” Mark whined.

“But isn’t that what you were going for?” Renjun asked.

Mark sighed and turned to Chenle.

“Can you help me?”

“Say you too with the smiley face emoji,” Chenle responded.

“Emojis? Now that’s getting into dangerous territory,” Mark responded.

“Exclamation point?”

“I think that’s the best we’ve got, Chenle.” Mark picked up his phone.

You too! Mark typed before sliding his phone far away from him.

“Oh god, that was totally the wrong thing to say,” Mark groaned.

“It’s literally a fucking text!” Renjun responded just as Chenle’s front doorbell rang. Chenle raced up to get the door, and Mark and Renjun followed him.

Jeno, Jaemin, Donghyuck, and Jisung were standing outside Chenle’s front door, wearing their usually funky, trendy clothes, although now Jeno was carrying a fairly full backpack.

“Hey bitch!” Jaemin cheered, gripping Renjun into a tight hug before pulling Chenle and Mark in too. Mark felt a bit strange, but not as uncomfortable as he thought he would’ve been having a near stranger hug him.

“Let’s go,” Jeno spoke, beckoning everyone out of the house. It was already quite dark at this point; the roads illuminated only by the streetlights. The air was nippy and a sharp breeze blew, but Mark wasn’t cold. It wasn’t often he was out at night like this; it made him feel like he was the kind of person that went on adventures.

“Where are we even going?” Chenle asked.

“I was thinking we’d go to Michaelangelo Park and chill,” Jaemin responded.

“Michaelangelo? I played in that park all the time as a kid,” Renjun responded.

“Me too!” Chenle added.

“I think all of us did,” Donghyuck said.

Luckily Chenle’s house wasn’t too far from the park, just a few steep hills up the road. They were silent as they trekked up the hills, their loud panting soon filling the night air.

“I think,” Donghyuck started between his heavy breaths. “I need to work out out more.” Everyone laughed as much as they could, and the finally reached the park.

After a quick breather, Jaemin went over to the metal gate and checked out the lock. He shook it, the noise of metal reverberating through the empty street, before going back to the others.

“It’s locked.”

“I think we can climb over the back entrance,” Jeno responded. The other shrugged and they walked a few more paces up the hill. There was a short wooden door, leading to an upstairs picnic table and the top of the play structure.

Jaemin took half a second to size it up before hitching his leg over and climbing into the park.

Jeno handed his boyfriend his backpack and climbed over, the others soon following.

From this high point, Mark could see the entire park. Standing in the area where parents put out snacks for their kid’s birthday parties, he could see the little stage where he’d had his preschool graduation. He could see his favorite tree, the one with the branch he’d broken off when climbing it when he was ten, when it hit him that he was too heavy to climb trees, that childhood was over. He could see the wall he and his friends would climb up, where his mom would yell at him to come down because she’s always been overprotective. He could see the steps where the neighborhood moms would get wine drunk while watching their kids play on Friday afternoons. He could see the little grassy area, where kids would pee (since the park didn't have a real bathroom) and suck the nectar out of little white nameless flowers. He could see the water fountain his friends had turned into irrigation systems in the sand. He could see the little room at the bottom of the playground where he’d have secret meetings with club members. He could see the wobbly bridge, the one that he laid on top of butt ass naked when he was three years old that his mom has a picture of in her scrapbooks. He could see the wooden ledge holding up the big slide, the ledge where he’d cried when he was rejected by his three year long crush in the sixth grade.

It was crazy. He’d grown up in a big city, but it was like he had a small town childhood, with close knit friends and family. But as he’d gotten older he’d just become more and more disconnected until he felt entirely isolated.

“Let’s go,” Donghyuck said, and Mark could hear a teenage life’s worth of memories in his voice. It made him feel not so alone.

They walked down through the play structure, over the wobbly bridge, to a square with the metal slide that shocked many a kid in hot summers past.

They sat in a circle, leaning against the bars and giant tic tac toe squares, and Jeno opened his backpack.

“Who wants a drink?” Jeno asked, pulling a massive bottle of Captain Morgan rum out of his backpack.

“Me,” Donghyuck responded, immediately stealing the bottle and taking a large swig. He looked at Mark, who was sitting to his right, and handed him the bottle.

“You look like you need it,” he said.

“I do,” Mark responded, chuckling softly. He eyed the bottle a bit; he’d never drank before. But now seemed as good of a time as ever to try, so he tipped his head back and took a sip.

He immediately gagged.

“That’s so gross!” He whined, shaking his head and passing the bottle to Jisung.

As the bottle made its way around the group, Jeno began to pull more things out of his bag: a lighter, a large hoodie, a pack of cigarettes, and an unusually large amount of gum. Jaemin immediately reached for the hoodie, wearing a guilty smile.

“I always have to pack Jaemin a jacket,” Jeno explained.

“You want to dress slutty,” Jisung said to Jaemin. “But you don’t have the follow through to withstand the cold.”

“Fuck off,” Jaemin mumbled in a response, a smile on his lips.

The bottle was a little more than halfway drained when it made its way back to Donghyuck. He put it in the middle but Mark reached for a sip. It tasted disgusting, but Mark wanted to see what tipsy felt like.

“That was a big sip, my dude,” Renjun commented, leaning against the edge of the slide.

“It wasn’t that much,” Jaemin responded.

“It’s a lot for Mark,” Renjun said.

Donghyuck looked over at Mark for long moment.

“Cute,” he mouthed.

“What?” Mark asked. Donghyuck shook his head.

“Nothing,” he responded with a smile, turning back to the others.

The drunkenness creeped up on the seven boys slowly. The dark atmosphere and cool night breeze cast a reflective shadow over the evening; tonight they were sad drunks. It smelled like liquor and Jisung’s mango juul and it didn’t smell so much like childhood anymore; it was off.

“When I was little.... I was so sad,” Jeno said, his voice slow and drawn out.

“Little kids aren’t sad,” Chenle responded.

“I was,” he quietly spoke. He sighed and reached for Jaemin’s arm. “I thought the other kids hated me, even though they didn’t. I just... I didn’t like myself then, I guess.”

“Emo hours here at Michaelangelo Park,” Renjun commented.

“I feel that Jeno,” Jisung mumbled quietly.

“I was a really annoying kid,” Donghyuck said. “Loud and shit. I had a lot of friends. I... I felt the same way as you guys, I just compensated in a different way.”

“You still are,” Jaemin teased.

“Fuck off,” Donghyuck whined with a giggle.

“Anyways, Jaemin, what’s your deal? How come you’re so happy all the time?” Renjun asked.

Jaemin shrugged. “I dunno; it’s just easy for me. The only time i can think of where I was really sad for a long time was the month.”

“What’s the month?” Mark asked.

“We don’t talk about the month,” Jeno said firmly.

“In freshman year they got in a big fight and broke up for a month,” Donghyuck explained.

“Why did we even break up?” Jaemin asked, looking up at Jeno, who had his arm wrapped around Jaemin’s shoulder.

“I don’t even know... all I remember is you saying you wasted your best years on me.”

Jaemin laughed. “Wow, I really said that at the age of fourteen.”

“You thought the best years of your life.... were middle school years?” Chenle asked incredulously.

“Okay, maybe I’ve always had a bit of a dramatic streak,” Jaemin admitted.

Everyone laughed a bit too loud, the mood lifted as they all took another swig. Jisung opened his sketchbook, squinting his eyes at Chenle.

“What are you doing?” Chenle asked.

“Drunk drawings are the best drawings,” Jisung mumbled, wiping out a pen and starting to draw. “You, come here too,” Jisung added, beckoning to Renjun. Renjun came and leaned his head on Chenle’s shoulder, humming softly.

Jaemin whispered something in Jeno’s ear and the two of them giggled, standing up and taking each other’s hands and running off to who knows where.

Mark sighed gratefully. Again, he was in a group, but alone with Donghyuck. He liked hanging out with his new friends but there was just something about Donghyuck, something about him that Mark just needed to be near and understood like the back of his hand.

Donghyuck was quiet but he reached his arm around Mark’s shoulder, shielding from the freezing cold San Francisco summer night wind. In a moment of drunk confidence, Mark leaned and rested his head on Donghyuck’s shoulder. He smelled good, like leather and middle school girl perfume. Mark’s vision swam but Donghyuck played with the little hairs on the back of his neck, holding him steady to the world.

“Who knew alcohol could make you so sleepy?” Mark mumbled.

“Most people,” Donghyuck responded. Mark looked up, and Donghyuck was smiling. He was being teased, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling back.

“You smell like bath and body works,” Mark said quietly. Donghyuck flushed pink; Mark could tell he was embarrassed.

“Don’t call me out like this,” Donghyuck responded in the softest voice.

“You actually like it?” Mark asked with a tiny giggle.

“Guy’s cologne is nasty,” Donghyuck whined back. “It smells like the locker rooms I’d get beat up in in middle school.”

Mark hummed and thought for a moment. “It does smell like that.”

The noise of creaking metal distracted Mark and Donghyuck from each other, turning around.

“Are you guys making out on the wiggly bridge?” Mark asked Jeno and Jaemin, giggling loudly. Jeno and Jaemin stood up, brushing their pants off.

“So what if we were?” Jaemin shouted back teasingly.

“Okay, you have just ruined my childhood,” Mark responded.

“Mine too,” Donghyuck added.

“Ew, were they making out on the wobbly bridge?” Jisung whined. “Kids in my grade used to spit on it so other kids would slip and fall.”

Jeno and Jaemin shared a look, grimacing at each other.

“You should’ve warned us!” Jeno whined loudly.

“How was I supposed to know it was Jeno and Jaemin gross time in public?” Jisung responded, taking a hit off his Juul and coughing the sweet smoke everywhere.

“Hey!” An incredibly loud and grumpy voice shouted from the houses next to the park. “It’s one am! People are trying to sleep!”

Now all the boys shared a grimace. “Sorry!” Donghyuck shouted back.

“Get outta there or I’m calling the police!”

Now the boys really panicked, reaching for their things and running up the steps to hop the fence.

“Will do sir!” Donghyuck shouted back. Jisung glared at him as one by one, they climbed over the wooden door.

They breathed sighs of relief as they treaded down the hills.

“Mark?” Jeno suddenly asked. Mark whipped around. “Can we talk to you?” Mark nodded, and Jaemin and Jeno tugged him behind the rest of the other boys.

“So... you and Donghyuck have been... flirting?” Jeno asked. Mark blushed and shyly nodded.

“He’s been nice to you so far?” Jaemin asked.

“R-really nice,” Mark responded. They both hummed.

“Good, good. That’s good,” Jeno said quietly.

“See because.... Donghyuck’s a really nice guy. Like, he’s super cool and nice. He’s just....”

“He’s a lot,” Jeno finished for Jaemin. “He has his issues. He’s done some shit. I just... I dunno. You’re so sweet and I just don’t want you to feel... pressured. By him or his.... lifestyle, I guess.”

“He would never mean to hurt you....but he probably would,” Jaemin added.

Mark was too drunk to process their words; he couldn’t really understand the meaning behind what they were saying.

“Is this... a warning?” Mark asked.

Jeno chuckled. “I guess so.”

Just then they reached Chenle’s house, everyone hugging each other tight.

“Let’s meet up more often!” Jaemin said excitedly.

“For sure,” Renjun responded.

Suddenly, Mark felt Donghyuck’s arms wrap tight around him. After what Mark had just heard he didn’t quite know what to feel, so he just sort of patted his back.

“I hope I’ll see you soon,” Donghyuck mumbled.

“Yeah,” Mark responded. “See ya.”

They pulled away and waved goodbye to each other, Chenle shutting the door. Mark was about to make his way to Chenle’s bathroom to wash up when he heard something he couldn’t not listen to.

“Can I talk to you guys?” Mark heard Donghyuck say. There was a deep inflection of anger that Mark have never heard in Donghyuck’s voice before.

“What’s up?” Jeno responded.

“What did you guys say to Mark about me?” Donghyuck asked, and Mark froze.

Jaemin sighed. “I dunno, we were just-“

“You guys know I’ve been cleaning up my act,” Donghyuck interrupted, the anger still there, mixed with hurt. “I’m a mess, yeah, but not ‘I’m gonna ruin Mark’s life’ a mess. A-and anyways,” Donghyuck spoke, his tone becoming softer. “I really like him.” Mark could feel his heart pounding in his chest. “I don’t want you guys to mess this up for me.”

Jeno sighed. “We’re sorry, dude. That was out of line.” Jaemin nodded in agreement.

“It’s alright,” Donghyuck responded. His voice clearly sounded not alright though. “Maybe he’ll still like me.”

He wasn’t wrong. Mark definitely, definitely still liked him.


	4. 3

Mark was at home, relaxing on a Thursday night when Donghyuck snapped him.

Do u wanna hang out tomorrow afternoon, it simply read.

Ofc, where are we meeting the others? Mark replied.

No, Donghyuck immediately typed. I mean just the two of us

Mark’s eyes grew wide, his hands trembling even though he was alone in his bedroom.

Yes, he quickly responded, too quickly for his own liking.

Great!

I know this really pretty spot I wanna visit with you

I’ll pick you up at your house

Mark didn’t notice how quickly Donghyuck had responded back. Sounds great!!!!

Immediately, he groaned and threw his phone to the other side of his bed. Nervous or excited, all he knew was that there were already butterflies in his stomach. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Mark was nervously pacing outside his door. He’d told his mom he was hanging out with Renjun and Chenle, but he was grateful she wasn’t there. She might have been suspicious at how absolutely nervous Mark was: he’d spent half an hour picking out what to wear (he’d ended up settling on a plain white t-shirt and skinny jeans; he’d never look as cool as Donghyuck even if he tried), he’d bitten his lower lip almost raw, and the palms of his hands had become pools of sweat.

Mark didn’t know whether to be even more nervous or relieved when the doorbell finally rang, throwing it open without question. As per usual, Donghyuck looked gorgeous: black jeans tight against his legs, vintage tee with some movie reference Mark would never get, leather jacket fitted perfectly to his shoulders, thick lips caught between his teeth. As soon as he saw Mark, a confident smile graced his lips. How the hell did he do that?

“That was fast,” He commented. Mark winced; he didn’t realize how weird it was to just open the door immediately.

“Don’t be like that,” Donghyuck spoke, noticing Mark’s expression. “It’s cute. Now come on; let’s go.” Mark blushed but with the beckoning of Donghyuck’s hand, shut the front door and followed him outside.

Suprisingly for a San Francisco summer, it was nice outside. The sun was shining and a breeze blew, but not the kind that cut through your bones until you were a shivering mess. It was the kind of wind that kept the temperature livable, the heat dimmed and withstood. Mark couldn’t imagine life without it; the idea of living in a dry hot place like LA seemed like it would be a death sentence.

“How have you been?” Donghyuck asked, turning to Mark.

“Pretty bored, to be honest. But still good. You?”

Donghyuck ignored Mark’s question. “You should’ve asked me to hang.”

“But...I don’t want to bother you. I’m sure you have your own things going on.”

“You’d never bother me, Mark.”

Mark didn’t quite know how to answer that so he was silent for a few moments, but he finally gained the courage to speak.

“So...where exactly are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” Donghyuck answered with a smile. “Just follow me.”

So Mark followed along patiently, their feet stomping down the bright sidewalk, the sun filtering through the trees overhead.

“Shit, that’s our bus!” Donghyuck suddenly cried, and he immediately began to run after the 23 bus. Mark squeaked, he would be the first to admit he wasn’t actually in shape, but followed after Donghyuck anyways.

Surprisingly, the two actually made it before the bus left. Donghyuck stuck his hand through the door to keep it open while Mark caught up, quickly ducking in through the back. Mark shuffled through his bag to grab his payment card, while Donghyuck just ignored the fare entirely and grabbed seats for the two of them.

Once Mark had beeped his card he sat down, the sound of their heavy breaths filling the back of the bus.

“Quick piece of advice?” Donghyuck stated in between pants. “Never run in docs.”

Mark laughed softly; he didn't think he'd ever own a pair of doc martens in his life, but he could imagine they way they'd kill your feet. 

Donghyuck turned to him fully in his seat, leaning against the metal bar behind him. A smile slowly came over his face and Mark quickly looked down, not used to such direct eye contact. But Donghyuck still stared at him anyways, with a look in his eyes that Mark couldn't quite decipher. 

"I like your eyes," Donghyuck suddenly spoke. 

"Wh-what?"

"They're easy to read. Your body language isn't easy to read, but your eyes are different. I like that." 

"Th-thanks," Mark responded, not quite knowing what to say to that.

The bus was fairly empty so the boys talked freely, telling stories of their old schools. Mark could tell that Donghyuck was the kind of guy who could talk for hours without stopping, but he let him without question. Mark's high school days were pretty boring, and Mark knew somehow he'd be interested in anything Donghyuck had to say. 

Looking out the window Mark knew he was lost; even though he'd lived in this city his whole life he had no idea where they were. It was okay though; he was going on an adventure. With Donghyuck, everything felt like an adventure.

Suddenly, though, Mark caught a whiff of something in the air. It smelled like a men's cologne Mark couldn't place, maybe axe? Either way he sniffed around a bit, trying to figure out where it was coming from. 

"What?" Donghyuck asked, stopping in the middle of his story about the time he got chased by a security guard at school.

"Are you wearing cologne?" Mark asked. Donghyuck nodded. "I-I thought you didn't like it." 

"I mean...I wanted you to like the way I smelled, since you made fun of my bath and body works stuff last time."

"N-No..." Mark stuttered, "I didn't mind it. I liked it better. Your middle school girl smell suits you." 

Donghyuck slowly grinned. "Thank you," he responded simply as the bus slowed to a stop. The back doors opened, and Donghyuck suddenly grabbed Mark's wrist. 

"This is our stop," he said, tugging Mark out of the bus. Mark was frozen for a moment by Donghyuck's touch, but luckily they made it out before the bus drove on. 

Standing before them was a massive grassy hill, flanked on either side by houses neat in a row. A small, winding path ran up through the dark grass; it looked like quite the climb. 

"Up there?" Mark asked worriedly. 

"Yup," Donghyuck responded, stepping off the sidewalk and onto the path. With a sigh, Mark began to follow him. 

The hill was fairly steep and as much as the turns tried to avoid it, the walk up was still tiring. Both of them were quickly panting, even while the sidewalk was still in sight. 

"I'm too weak for this!" Mark whined, pausing for a moment to catch his breath. 

"It's worth it, I promise!" Donghyuck called back down to him, looking back towards him for a moment. Mark sighed again, hoisting himself up and walking up to where Donghyuck was. 

Donghyuck stepped off of the path and Mark hestitantly followed, their feet crunching through the yellowing grass until they reached a ledge. Donghyuck flopped down tiredly and Mark followed, gasping as soon as he looked out. 

On this ledge was a perfect view of the city; with the sun out they could see everything: Coit Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Pyramid Building, Twin Peaks. It was overwhelming, it was stunning, and yes, it was worth the walk. 

"Pretty, right?" Donghyuck asked. 

"Yeah," Mark answered breathlessly. Donghyuck exhaled, laying all the way down. Mark followed, not wanting to seem weird. 

"So...where are you going to school?" Mark asked, the usual questions for kids their age. 

"College?" Donghyuck asked, and Mark nodded. "UC Davis. You?" 

"Wait, seriously?" Mark responded, turning his head towards Donghyuck. 

"Yeah...why?" 

"I mean, I'm going there too..." 

"Really? That's great! Thank god, I actually know someone who's going," Donghyuck responded excitedly, smiling brightly. 

"H-how did you get in?" Mark asked. 

"What do you mean?"

"Did you know someone who worked there?"

"Uh...no?" Donghyuck responded. 

"I-I mean, it's kind of a prestigious school..." 

"What are you saying, Mark?" Donghyuck asked roughly, turning back to look up at the sky again. Mark froze, not wanting to offend Donghyuck further. 

"W-well, I was in student body and my gpa was pretty good, and I mean, you...." 

"Ah, typical Lowell kid," Donghyuck sighed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mark asked; now he was on the defensive. He didn't like where this was going, but he didn't know how to make it stop. 

"Thinks all there is to life is good grades and clubs for college apps." 

"Th-that's not true," Mark stammered. He couldn't lie though, sometimes he did feel that way.

"Just because I went to SOTA and had some fun in high school doesn't mean I didn't work hard. I was lead in most of the musicals at my school since freshman year, plus my gpa wasn't half bad either." 

Mark swallowed thickly with guilt. They'd been on their first date less than an hour and he'd already fucked up, just the kind of thing Mark Lee would do. Only an asshole would make a snap judgement like that. 

"There's more to life than grades, you know," Donghyuck said, turning back to Mark. But to Mark's relief there wasn't anger in his eyes any more. 

"I-I know," Mark stammered. 

"But do you?" Donghyuck answered, a smile quirking up at the corner of his thick lips. It wasn't spiteful, but Mark still didn't know what to say. 

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have judged you so quickly," Mark spoke. 

"You're ignoring my question," Donghyuck responded. "I accept your apology though." 

"I-I mean-" 

"I'll teach you how to have fun. I promise." 

Slowly, Mark smiled back at Donghyuck. Already, he could feel himself falling harder. He was forgiving and understanding, just more qualities on top of his many good ones Mark already knew about. 

And so on that ledge they talked for hours endlessly, about high school and college and fears and things they were excited for. Mark talked for a while too and surprisingly Donghyuck listened, just as well as Mark had before, hanging off of his every word. 

When the conversation lulled Donghyuck sat up, pulling out his phone. 

"I wanna do your star chart," Donghyuck simply spoke. "What's your birthday?"

"August 2, 1999," Mark responded, going with the flow. It seemed like with Donghyuck, going with his ideas was usually a good idea. 

"Birth place?" 

"Vancouver." 

"Really?" Donghyuck asked. Mark nodded. 

"My family moved here when I was a baby." 

Donghyuck nodded and continued filling out the questions for Mark. "Birth time?" 

"Why would you need to know that?" 

"It's important," Donghyuck responded. 

"Uh, midnight I think," Mark answered anyways. Donghyuck finished it all up and looked over the answers, humming to himself. 

"Interesting, interesting," He responded, scrolling through. 

"What does it say?" Mark asked. 

"Huh. Leo sun, aries moon, virgo venus." 

"I....have no idea what any of that means," Mark responded with a chuckle. 

"Let's see then," Donghyuck responded, scrolling back up again. "'Likes authority, aspires toward an ideal...honest, frank, loyal, open, and sincere'...seems about right. That's for your sun sign, by the way, which is in leo. Sun sign is your base personality." 

"That seems pretty accurate, but they were very nice." 

Donghyuck chuckled. "They do list weaknesses too. It says 'presumption and disdain of others'...sounds right to me." 

"Hey!" Mark whined. 

"I'm just kidding," Donghyuck answered, and Mark could tell he meant it. It was freeing, really, how teasing they were with each other already. Things were already easy. 

"Okay, onto your moon sign...'moon in aries'. It says you 'don't play games...you have an aura of childlike innocence'...oh that's definitely true; you're the cutest person I've ever met." Even though Donghyuck mostly said that to himself, Mark still flushed and curled up into a ball. 

"'Venus in virgo'," Donghyuck spoke, reading to himself. 

"What's venus?" Mark asked. 

"Oh, that's how you deal with love," Donghyuck teased. "'Not flirtatious.' That's true; I was surprised when you even agreed to go on this date with me. Okay, but 'dedicated to working on the relationship...gifts of devotion and attention to details of you...great listeners'...huh, I had a feeling you'd make a good boyfriend." 

Mark flushed more and hid it with his knees, his smile hidden as well. Donghyuck gave him a dazzling look, almost not noticing the sky begin to darken.

"Shit!" Mark cried, leaping up. 

"What?"

"I have to be home before dark." 

"...shit." 

The two of them ran down the hill, almost tripping over the unstable steps and lose rocks before they reached the bus stop just as it pulled in. They leapt on again, Donghyuck still not paying, and sat down in their exact same seats, panting. 

"I can't believe we had to do that again," Mark spoke with a chuckle. 

"Are you gonna be alright? I don't want to get you in trouble."

Mark looked out the window. "I think I'll be fine," he answered, giving Donghyuck a smile. "But thanks for worrying." 

Unlike the ride there, which was full of loud laughter and boisterous talking, the ride back was fairly silent. To Mark's surprise, though, it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, as his tiredness set in, it felt just right. 

Mark inhaled and exhaled, trying to calm the beating of his heart as he slowly rested his head on Donghyuck's shoulder. It was warm, despite the brisk breeze flowing in through the windows. He could feel Donghyuck smile, the crook of his neck a better pillow than the one on his bed. 

Donghyuck reached over and casually interlaced their fingers, Mark freezing in place. Even though it was just something so simple, nobody had touched him like that in a while. It felt good, and with Donghyuck, it felt right. 

They reached Mark's house soon enough and got off of the bus, Donghyuck walking Mark just a few blocks down back to his front door.

"I had an amazing time today," Donghyuck said sincerely. 

"M-me too," Mark responded. "We should do it again sometime." He could feel Donghyuck's eyes on his lips, but as Donghyuck leaned in he only reached for a hug. 

"Sometimes soon," Donghyuck mumbled in his ear before pulling away. He checked Mark out and smiled, throwing him a grin and a wave before walking away. 

"See ya!" Mark called back, watching him go. Donghyuck simply turned around and winked before turning the corner. 

As soon as Donghyuck was out of sight, Mark grinned and clutched his heart. He knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night. 


	5. 4

It was a Friday evening when Mark was back with his friends. Renjun, Jeno, Chenle, Jaemin, Jisung, Donghyuck and himself all sat on Jeno's back porch, the setting sun bouncing off the windows of his neighbors and hitting his porch just right. 

Jeno was packing a bowl in his pipe, leaning over Jaemin (who was sitting on his lap). Chenle watched in fascination, resting his head on Renjun's shoulder as they squeezed onto one lawn chair. Jisung was trying to fix his juul, and Donghyuck was looking at his phone. 

"Don't your neighbors mind?" Mark asked. The buildings around Jeno's flat were packed in tight. 

"Yeah, but not enough to get me in trouble. Anyways, my parents smoke too so the blame is equal." Jeno lit the bowl, inhaling the smoke and holding it in. 

"Your parents smoke weed?" Mark asked with surprise. 

"Yours don't?" Jaemin responded. Jeno passed the pipe and lighter to him and exhaled, the smoke blowing around the porch. 

"My parents are big stoners. Almost as much as me," Jeno explained. Jaemin finished taking his hit and passed it to Jisung. 

The pipe made its way around the circle twice, Donghyuck helping Mark with the lighter. Mark and Chenle were pretty high, but the others were unfazed. 

"That was...not enough," Jeno complained, playing with the strings of his hoodie (that Jaemin was wearing). 

"Bong, bong, bong," Jaemin whispered loudly. Soon, Jisung and Donghyuck joined him. 

"Fine, fine," Jeno responded with a smile, kissing Jaemin on the cheek and pushing him off his lap. "If baby wants the bong, baby's gonna get it."

Jaemin smirked as Jeno went into his room to go get the stuff. 

"What's a bong?" Mark whispered to Donghyuck. 

Donghyuck chuckled at Mark, licking his lips. "You'll see," he answered in a low tone. 

Jeno emerged from behind the sliding doors just then, carrying a baggie of more weed and a fairly large, oddly shaped glass cylinder. 

"Mark's never had a bong rip," Donghyuck said, outing him. Jeno grinned and down, Jaemin climbing right back onto his lap.

"You're in for a treat then," Jeno answered, taking his first hit with a relaxed exhale. 

Mark watched closely as the others took their hits, passing it around the opposite way from before. Jeno of course did it easily, as he was the stoner of their group, but Jaemin, Jisung, and Donghyuck didn't have trouble either. It looked pretty easily, actually, other than the whole lighter thing (Mark had yet to master flicking a lighter on, to his embarrassment).

Finally, it was his turn, and he took the cylinder in his hand. The water sloshed around so Mark gripped it tighter, running through his mind how he'd seen his other friends do it before.

"Lighter?" Donghyuck offered, knowing Mark's difficulties. Mark nodded and Donghyuck lit the flame. 

Mark put his lips around the rim, tasting Jaemin's cherry chapstick on it. "Take it easy," he said gently, looking Mark in the eyes before lighting the bowl. 

Mark began to inhale, and as soon as he began, he didn't know when to stop. He could already feel the burn in his lungs so he put it down on the table. 

Immediately, he began to cough, violently. His throat had never hurt this bad in his life, not even that time he'd gotten strep throat as a kid; his eyes were tearing up and he didn't even notice Donghyuck's panicked expression, the boy gently rubbing his back. 

He tried to say 'shit' but he couldn't, god damn he burned his throat too bad, and Donghyuck ran to go get him a glass of water. He returned quickly and put it in Mark's hands, Mark downing it as quickly as he could but fuck did it hurt bad. 

Finally, the coughing (sort of) stopped. 

"You okay dude?" Jeno asked. Mark managed to nod, another cough ripping its way through his throat. 

Renjun looked at Mark suspiciously but picked up the bong anyway, taking a hit for himself. Soon enough though, there was a companion to Mark's frantic, uncontrollable coughing. 

Mark tried to talk but it still couldn't come out, he didn't think he'd ever been in this much physical pain before other than that time Chenle's older sister tried to pluck his eyebrows, and Renjun was just coughing up a lung next to him too. He could vaguelly hear that the other boys were talking around him but he couldn't really make out the words. 

The sudden overwhelming urge to vomit took over, was it the pain in his throat or the weed? Mark couldn't really tell but it was urgent so he stood up, pushing his way past his friends and back into Jeno's house. 

He ran to the bathroom, bent over the toilet. The marijuana was starting to hit him and he could barely keep himself up at that point, when suddenly--

~~~~~~~~~~

When Mark came to he was laying down on Jeno's couch, Renjun sitting over him. He saw Renjun breath a sigh of relief. 

"Are you okay?" Renjun asked, his own voice fairly garbled. Mark tried to speak but nothing came out, and Renjun handed him some water. 

Mark sat up, downing the water in one straight go. He made grabby hands, gesturing for more water, and Renjun got up to get him another glass. 

After about three more glasses Mark was finally able to speak, laying down so his head would stop swimming. 

"I think I passed out," he croaked. 

"I know, we were really worried. I told the others to leave us alone though; I was afraid they would bother you." 

"Thanks," Mark responded. "A-are you okay?"

Renjun nodded. "Yeah, I burnt my throat too but not as bad as you." 

"I-I love you, you know that? I love you so much dude." Mark sat up to try and give Renjun a hug but his head felt weird so he laid back down again. 

"I love you too," Renjun responded, petting Mark's hair affectionately. Just then Chenle peeked in through the doorway, giving the two friends a strange look. 

"Are you alright?" Chenle asked worriedly, ignoring how strange it was that Mark and Renjun were being affectionate (despite them being best friends since they were fourteen). 

"Yeah, I'm alright," Mark responded, his voice going out, so Renjun got up to give get him a glass of water. 

Chenle began to talk just then but Mark could not make out a single word that he was saying; it all just seemed like a blur. 

"Yeah," he chuckled in response, trying to not seem too weird. Chenle gave him another confused look and began to talk again, but Mark still had no idea what he was saying. 

"Wha?" Mark asked just as Renjun returned with the water, sitting back down with a sigh. Mark downed the water, entirely forgetting that he was talking to Chenle, so he gave up and went back to the others. 

Renjun laid down next to Mark, staring up at the ceiling. 

"I think I'm....really high," Mark said with a chuckle. 

"Me too," Renjun answered. The two friends looked at each other and giggled. The giggling grew louder and louder, they couldn't stop, it grew into laughter. Somehow whatever this was just seemed like the funniest fucking thing in the world, laughing so hard they were wheezing, Renjun falling off the couch. Mark's throat hurt so bad, this laughing was way too much but he just couldn't stop. 

After what seemed like thirty minutes Mark and Renjun managed to get it together, sitting back down and coughing from the pressure they'd put on their burnt throats. 

"Renjun?" Jeno called from the other room. 

"Coming," Renjun responded with a cough, getting up and clutching his head for a moment before walking into the other room. As Mark waited, staring up at the ceiling, the sick feeling began to come back. Nothing made sense, everything was fuzzy and swimmy, and he felt pretty nauseous. Plus, his throat hurt like a bitch, even after all of that water. 

"Jeno wants to know if we can all come in," Renjun said. 

"Yeah, sure," Mark answered. Renjun gave them the okay and the others soon began to come back into the living room, flopping down on the couch. Donghyuck came over slowly but wore a worried expression, looking over him. 

"Are you alright?" Donghyuck asked with genuine concern. 

"Mmh," Mark responded. He was feeling worse than before actually. Donghyuck's eyes widened and he looked, panicked, to Jeno. 

"He's fine," Jeno mouthed to Donghyuck, but Mark didn't notice because he was too far gone at that point. "Don't worry," Jeno mouthed, touching Donghyuck's arm. Donghyuck sat down on the couch but still looked over at Mark. 

"How're ya feelin, dude?" Jeno asked, Jaemin cuddling up to his side as he turned on the TV. 

"Kinda sick," Mark admitted, coughing. "I think I wanna go to bed." 

"Don't do that! You'll miss the best high!" Jisung said, leaning on Jaemin. 

"Come on, let's go to the kitchen," Jeno said, gesturing for Mark to follow. Donghyuck made a move to get up too but Jeno stopped him. "I'll take care of him, I do this all the time," he whispered to Donghyuck. "He needs less stimulation. Stay in here." 

The two of them walked into the kitchen, and Mark took a seat at the kitchen table. Jeno went to go get him some water. 

"How's your throat?" Jeno asked. Mark just made a face and Jeno tossed him a cough drop, Mark missing it by a lot. With his head swimming he bent down to pick it up, grimacing all the way. 

Jeno sat across from him, passing him the glass of water. 

"I'm sorry," Mark croaked out. "I feel like I'm a bother." 

"Nah, don't worry about it." 

"Are you sure?" 

Jeno nodded. "Yeah. You just took too big of a hit. Inhaled too quickly; I guess your throat isn't used to it. You'll be alright; I've seen much worse." 

"Thanks, dude," Mark answered, giving Jeno a smile. "Could I have another zinc?" He asked. 

"A what?" Jeno responded. 

"Zinc." 

"A...a cough drop?" 

"Yeah, a zinc," Mark spoke. Jeno held back his laughter and got Mark another cough drop. Mark seemed satisfied, putting the cough drop in his mouth, so he didn't press. 

Jeno began to talk a little but Mark couldn't really register what he was saying, nodding along every so often. 

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, right?" Jeno asked. 

"Yeah, of course dude," Mark responded. Jeno held back more laughter, just as Renjun walked in. 

"How are you Markie?" He cooed, giving Mark a big hug and leaning over his shoulder. Mark giggled, turning into that never ending throat burning laughter once again. "I love you best friend!" 

"Go away," Jeno responded at Renjun's strange affection. 

"I just wanna help!" Renjun whined in a high pitched voice. "Let me help!" 

"Renjun...can you go?" 

"Fine...but you're mean," he whined, clutching the doorway and almost falling over. "Big meanie! Jeno's mean!" He yelled. 

"Dude, he's so high. Way more high than me," Mark responded with a chuckle. "Could I have another zinc?" 

Jeno had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing but dutifully got Mark another cough drop anyways. 

"Feeling better?" 

"A bit," Mark answered, but it was mostly because he was distracted from how he felt. He was really nauseous, even still, and his throat hurt a lot (although the cough drops helped). 

Just then, Donghyuck poked his head in the doorway. 

"No, we don't need help," Jeno said. Donghyuck pouted. 

"Donghyuck can stay!" Mark cried, seeing his sad expression. Donghyuck giggled and wrapped his arms around Mark's shoulders, kissing the top of his head. If Mark had been any less high he would've been freaking out, but for now he just giggled. He barely even noticed Donghyuck's hands all over him. 

Jeno began talking and again, Mark had no idea what he was saying, but suddenly he felt nauseous again. Like...emergency nauseous. He pushed Donghyuck away from him without a second thought, his legs like jelly as he tried to stand, and he haphazardly gripped the sides of Jeno's kitchen sink. Suddenly he began to vomit, his head swimming and pounding as his vision blurred in front of him. 

Donghyuck watched this go down with wide eyes as Mark emptied his stomach, staring in shock when he was done. 

"Could you take him into the living room? I need to clean this up," Jeno said unfazed, while Donghyuck went to go grab Mark. He began to wipe the vomit off his mouth on his sleeves and Donghyuck grabbed some paper towels, wiping his mouth for him. 

"Oh my god I'm so sorry," Mark said, still sort of in a state of shock, to Jeno. 

"It's fine. Wouldn't be the first time I've cleaned barf," Jeno responded as Donghyuck lead him into the other room. The time to process the fact that he'd just thrown up in front of his crush would be later. Now, he just sat down on the edge of the couch and thought. Well, not really thought, nothing coherent was happening in his brain then. Just sort of...looked, at the weird swirling colors of the TV and Jeno's bedroom. 

When he came back to reality, he noticed Chenle and Jisung trying to play video games, Renjun tucked under a blanket with just his eyes poking out, and Donghyuck sitting to his right. 

"Do you want a cough drop?" Donghyuck asked softly, handing Mark one. 

"Zinc!" Mark cried gratefully, taking it from Donghyuck's hands and popping it in his mouth, his vomitting entirely forgotten for the moment.

Suddenly, what felt like an eye cube caressed Mark's ankle. Mark cried out, way too dramatically, and looked over at Renjun.

"I'm c-cold," Renjun said simply, despite the fact that he was underneath about five blankets. Mark simply looked at him, not knowing how to respond.

"I'm tunneling...into a tunnel...of my own tunnel..." Renjun spoke, staring wide eyed at absolutely nothing. Mark still didn't know how to respond again so he just leaned against Donghyuck's shoulder, his breath probably still smelling like throw up (but Donghyuck didn't push him away).  

Jeno came back in just then, holding a box of cinnamon toast crunch. Without a word Jisung grabbed it out of his hands immediately, he and Chenle devouring the entire box in what felt like seconds flat. Jaemin pulled Jeno onto the couch and climbed all over him as Jeno looked at his phone. 

"You smell good again," Mark spoke, blantantly sniffling Donghyuck's clothes with the scent of his girly perfume. 

"I'm glad you think so," Donghyuck answered whistfully, but Mark didn't actually hear him. 

"Are you feeling better?" Jeno asked Mark, and Renjun hid under the blanket. 

"Yeah, I feel much better after I threw up...oh my god I forgot I threw up," Mark said while laughing. 

"I will never forget cleaning it up," Jeno mumbled under his breath, but only Jaemin heard him. 

"Anything we can do to make you feel better?" Jisung asked. 

"Can we watch spongebob?" Mark asked quietly. 

"Sure," Jeno answered, turning the TV to nickelodeon. 

Mark honestly had no idea what was happening in the episode; he couldn't understanding nearly any of the words the characters were saying. But the animation had never looked so amazing. In the intro, when spongebob's eyes popped out, both he and Renjun jumped in their seats, and all in all it was just super fucking trippy. 

Mark was far from sober by the end of the episode but he definitely felt much better, like he could probably interact with an adult without too much of a problem. 

"My parents are coming home soon, and I'm afraid you all gotta get out of here," Jeno said once it was over. 

"It's alright," Chenle responded, tugging Renjun and Mark into the hallways to put their shoes on. 

"What's going on?" Mark asked worriedly. 

"You two are coming to my house. I'm not letting your strict ass parents see you this high," Chenle responded. 

"How are you sane?" Renjun asked as he struggled to tie his shoelaces. 

"I didn't take a hit off the bong. I got freaked out when you guys both started coughing up a lung." 

"Bye!" Renjun said cheerfully as Chenle dragged his two friends out of Jeno's house, very unused to being the responsible one of the bunch.

As soon as the door was shut, Mark's face fell. 

"I threw up in front of Donghyuck," he spoke in the gravest voice. 

"Oh shit," Renjun responded worriedly. 

"Come on guys, the uber's here," Chenle responded, leading them to it. Mark would have to deal with these consequences later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> weed isnt bad 4 u i swear i dont wanna give the wrong impression but dont take bong rips yall this actually happened to me in high school xoxo


	6. 5

Mark should have been very excited, but instead he was just nervous. It had been a few days since the 'bong incident', as he'd labelled it. Although he and Donghyuck had texted since that night, they hadn't yet discussed what happened.

Jaemin had invited Renjun, Mark, and Chenle to his and Jisung's favorite kind of party: a rave at the DNA lounge. Jaemin talked about raves all the time, and Mark was pretty excited to go, except for the fact that he was worried about confronting Donghyuck. 

Chenle, Renjun, and himself got ready together, and decided to meet the others outside the DNA lounge. They arrived soon after laughing loudly and running down the street. 

As soon as Mark saw them, he immediately felt under dressed...or over dressed, he didn't know which word worked for the situation. Chenle was the only one his friends who fit in with the others, wearing his older sister's gym shorts and a t-shirt. Renjun and Mark were both wearing black skinny jeans (which Mark ripped up for the occasion) and plain white t-shirts. 

Jaemin was dressed in dark denim booty shorts and a white crop top, rainbow glitter smeared all over his arms, stomach, and exposed collarbones. Jeno was hanging off of him, wearing regular jeans and straight up no shirt. Jisung also had on booty shorts but his were holographic, holo straps also tied around his legs. He also had on a plastic hoodiethat almost went past the end of his shorts. 

When Mark sees Donghyuck, his still burnt throat went even more dry. Donghyuck's hair was brushed out of his eyes and he was wearing a mesh t-shirt. On the bottom, he had on black, torn skinny jeans with fishnets underneath. Mark didn't think he'd seen anything more beautiful in his life. Donghyuck saw Mark and smirked; he knew Mark thought he looked sexy. 

They locked eyes, but the tension was cut when Jaemin gave them all a tight hug. 

"I am so glad you all came!" Jaemin cried excitedly; clearly Jaemin was in his element. Jeno just watched his boyfriend with a smile. There was love in his eyes, and Mark knew Jeno was happiest when Jaemin was purely himself like this. 

"Want some?" Jisung spoke, lifting up a bottle of cheap vodka. 

Jaemin reached for it immediately. "You'll want to have some. Sober raves are miserable." Jaemin unscrewed the lid and tipped his head back, downing the liquid. 

"Go easy, baby," Jeno mumbled. Jaemin finished and passed the bottle to Jeno, but he shook his head. 

"I'm driving, remember?" Jeno said. 

"You're gonna be miserable," Donghyuck responded as Jaemin passed the bottle to Chenle. 

"I'll be fine, as long as I dance with Jaemin."

"You'll be fine, as long as you grind on Jaemin," Jisung answered as Renjun drank from the bottle. 

"He's not lying," Jaemin mumbled under his breath. 

The bottle made its way back to Jaemin, once everyone had a sip or two. 

"We're gonna go put this back in the car. They won't let us take it inside," Jeno said. 

"Can you take my bag? I really only need my phone," Renjun asked. Jeno and Jaemin took everyone's bags to put in Jeno's car, and the others got into the long line to get inside. 

Renjun, Chenle, and Jisung quickly got wrapped up in their own conversation, so Mark turned to Donghyuck uncomfortably. 

"How's your throat?" Donghyuck asked. Even though he was just trying to make conversation, Mark could hear genuine concern behind his words. 

"It's better," Mark responded. "Now it just feels like I have a sore throat."

Donghyuck grinned and pulled something out of his back pocket. "I brought you some zinc." 

Mark flushed and took the cough drop with embarrassment, reliving that cringe worthy night all over again as he popped it into his mouth. 

"Th-thanks," Mark responded shyly. Donghyuck sighed and gave him a look. 

"Mark, I don't give a fuck that you threw up next to me. That shit happens all the time, honestly it wasn't even that bad. In freshman year, I got too drunk and threw up into my crush's bra. It happens to the best of us." 

Mark began to smile. He felt so much better immediately; and anyways it was sweet that Donghyuck had picked up on his shame. 

"Thank you, Hyuck," Mark spoke. "I'm glad you understand." 

"Mark, no matter what you do, I think I'll still like you." Donghyuck looked straight into Mark's eyes, and Mark tried not to wonder whether he meant like as in friend like or like as in like-like, like, romantic like. 

Before Mark could respond they finally reached the front of the line, Jeno and Jaemin catching up right behind them. Mark could hear the thumping of the bass from all the way outside, and a rush of adrenaline ran down his spine. Even though he didn't think this would be his thing before, he was actually pretty excited. 

The seven boys showed the bouncer their phones before getting a stamp on their wrist and stepping inside. 

Immediately, Mark was overwhelmed in the best way possible. People, all different kinds of people were crammed inside the fairly small room, the flashing lights the only thing keeping the crowd visible. The walls were painted a pitch black, making the multi-colored lights just shine even brighter. There was two black stumps on either side of the room, scantily clad girls and boys dancing on top of them. Booths and benches lined the walls, and the stage with the dj loomed at the front of the room. 

The music was loud. Not unbearably, but so loud that it seemed to seep into his brain, the bass thumping through every vein in his body, Mark could feel it. He couldn't hear anything over the music, no, it dominated every single person in that room. Mark watched as a group of girls ran up the stairs to a balcony above the dance floor, where people watched the crowds. The room reeked of alcohol and juul and cigarettes and BO, but Mark didn't mind all that much. He was ready to dance. 

Chenle cheered and grabbed Mark and Renjun by the wrists, pulling them into the center of the dance floor before they'd even had time to process. Chenle danced excitedly, while Renjun and Mark sort of swayed by themselves. 

"This isn't a school dance," Chenle yelled over the bass. "Go crazy! Who cares!" 

Suddenly the rest of the group approached them, wearing wide grins. Jaemin had his back pressed to Jeno's chest, Jeno holding his hips steady and close. Jisung and Donghyuck were dancing very carefree as well, and Mark grinned when he noticed Donghyuck was actually pretty good. 

Jaemin pressed a small kiss to Jeno's lips before pulling away from him, tugging Renjun closer and dancing on him. Renjun burst out laughing, knowing it wasn't that big of a deal and Jaemin was always Jeno's. The three of them soon disappeared into the crowd of people, and Chenle and Jisung were gone quickly as well. 

That left Mark alone with Donghyuck...as usual. Donghyuck gave Mark a cocky grin and Mark looked shyly down at his shoes, dancing a little but not exaggeratedly, not wanting to embarrass himself. 

Mark flushed when Donghyuck suddenly pulled him in close, wrapping his arms around Mark's neck. 

"Don't worry," he spoke into Mark's ear. "Nobody's judging you here. Everyone's on drugs anyways. Just let go." 

Mark nodded back at him, taking in his words as they moved slightly apart. He chuckled and started dancing more like himself, and Donghyuck immediately gave him a big grin. 

They danced together for a few moments, Donghyuck trying to make eye contact while Mark avoided it. 

"Kinda hot," Donghyuck said, barely loud enough for Mark to hear. 

"What is?" Mark asked. But before he could hear Donghyuck's answer, Chenle tugged him away. 

"Dance with me!" Chenle whined. "Jisung abandoned me for a smoke break." 

Mark was disappointed only for a moment but then started dancing with his best friend, laughing and grinning at how free everything was. Mark had never felt like this before. People were crowding around him but it didn't feel clausterphobic, no, it felt anonymous. Mark could be whoever he wanted and nobody would know. Mark could be himself and nobody would judge him for it. 

They danced like that until Mark's legs ached and he'd run out of breath. 

"I need a break!" He yelled to Chenle over the music. Chenle nodded at him, and Mark weaved his way through the crowd to the bathroom. 

Mark walked into the bathroom to get a much needed break, passing by Jaemin  the stable lights and slightly more quiet giving him some piece of mind. A group of boys stood in the corner as Mark washed his hands, smoking a juul. Mark looked at it with furrowed brows; that was definitely Jisung's juul (he knew because Jisung had covered in it hand-drawn stickers). He worried that they'd maybe stolen in from Jisung when the boy himself emerged from one of the stalls, and the boys gave the juul back gratefully. 

"Mark Lee," Jisung drawled with a smile when he noticed Mark at the sinks. They washed their hands next to each other awkwardly; out of the whole group they were probably the least close. 

"Come on, let's take a picture together," Jisung said, pulling up snapchat. Jisung leaned on Mark's shoulder, sticking out his hips and striking a model pose. Mark, on the other hand, tried to smile and did a piece sign. 

"That's hot," Jisung said, and posted the photo to his story. Mark looked over his shoulder to see it was already midnight; had they really already been there almost two hours?

"R-really?" Mark stuttered. 

"Mmh," Jisung answered; he'd always been on the quieter side. "You look good tonight. Donghyuck basically fucking drooled when he saw you."

"Ah, I don't know," Mark responded shyly. 

"Well I do know, bitch," Jisung mumbled, just as Donghyuck burst into the bathroom wearing a terrified expression. 

"Guys, we gotta go!" He cried over the music. Mark and Jisung immediately rushed out of the bathroom. 

"What's going on?" Mark asked as he, Donghyuck, and Jisung speedwalked out of the DNA lounge and onto the street. 

"Jaemin and Jeno went to go drink more of the vodka, but when they got there Jeno's car got broken into and they took all our shit," Donghyuck answered. 

"Seriously?" Mark cried. 

"Fuck!" Jisung whined. 

They turned a bend quickly and came upon Jeno's car. The windows were all smashed in, glass laying all around the vehicle black vehicle. Everyone else was already there: Chenle was seeing what could be salvaged in the car, Renjun was debating whether or not to call the police, and Jaemin was comforting a stunned Jeno. 

"This isn't even my car," Jeno said in a distant voice. "It's my mom's." 

"Dude, I'm so fucking sorry," Mark said. 

"Yeah, this is horrible," Jisung added. 

Jeno sighed. "It's....it's...fuck," he groaned. 

"Should I call the police? Maybe they can figure it out," Renjun asked. 

"Hey...is this your car?" A group of men asked, and all seven of the boys turned to face them, most shivering from their lack of clothes. 

"Yeah," Jeno said dejectedly to the men. They looked to bit only a bit older than Mark's friends, dressed in all black with a sinister vibe. 

"Well...we know the guys that broke into your car. We can get you most of your stuff back," one of them said. 

"Other than your cash and credit cards," another added. 

"As long as you don't call the police." 

Jeno turned to look at the others. They all immediately knew it was these guys that destroyed Jeno's mom's car, and they just wanted to avoid getting into trouble. 

Jeno sighed loudly. "Fine," he answered angrily. The three men handed Jeno back a pile of his things, their wallets clearly dug through, and ran off quickly. 

As soon as they were gone, Renjun turned to Jeno. "We could've gotten more of our stuff back if we called the police," he spoke. 

"Nah," Jeno answered as the seven boys grabbed their things out of the pile. "The police would never have found them. We don't know what they looked like. Anyways," he said, handing Jaemin his hoodie and digging through his own backpack. "I have stuff in here that's important to me." He sighed in relief when he pulled out a worn slip of paper, shoving it back in his bag for safekeeping. 

"Is that the love note I wrote you in sixth grade?" Jaemin cried. Jeno nodded shyly and smiled before remembering what happened to the car, immediately going back to his dejected state. 

"Well...is there anything else we can do?" Chenle asked. Jeno sighed and shook his head. 

"No. I've just gotta go home and face the consequences." He looked at the car and chuckled. "Other than the windows everything's still working. Anyone want a ride home?" 

"Don't worry about it dude. We'll just uber home," Donghyuck responded, and he, Jisung, and Chenle pulled out their phones (as Renjun and Mark were staying over at Chenle's). 

"I'll stay with you. You'll need backup to deal with your mom," Jaemin mumbled to Jeno. Jeno gave him a small smile. 

"Love you," he said softly. 

Their ubers began to pull up and they turned to Jeno guiltily. 

"I am so sorry about your car. Let me know if we can do anything," Renjun spoke as they took turns giving Jeno hugs. 

"It's alright, dude. I'll figure it out."

As they turned to hug Jaemin, he gave them a smile. 

"I'm sorry your first rave got ruined," Jaemin spoke. 

"It's alright," Renjun responded. 

"We'll go to another one soon."

"And I won't bring a fucking car," Jeno growled. 

They all said their goodbyes, and went into their ubers going separate ways. 


	7. 6

On a cloudy San Francisco summer day, Mark and his six friends decided to take a trip to haight street. 

"I've never actually been," Renjun admitted while they were on the bus over. 

"Me either," Mark added. 

"Seriously?" Jaemin cried. 

"I know you guys will love it. It's one of my favorite places in SF," Donghyuck said. 

Jeno ushered them all towards the door and they stepped off of the seven bus. Mark looked at the busy streets, shops lining the sidewalk. It smelled like incense and weed and food, and it immediately reminded him of Donghyuck. 

"Let's go in here," Chenle spoke excitedly, gesturing to a store immediately to their right. The windows had mannequins dressed in all tie dye, and the store was painted with swirling sixties style rainbow patterns. They stepped inside, Jeno and Jaemin grabbing hands as the clerk greeted them. 

Out of curiosity, Mark stepped over to a t-shirt and looked at the price. He immediately grimaced and Donghyuck stepped beside him. 

"Holy shit," Donghyuck whispered, looking over Mark's shoulder. 

"Sixty bucks for a t-shirt? I could just tie dye a shirt myself," Mark whispered back. Donghyuck chuckled, and they left the shirt alone. 

As Jaemin and Jisung scoured over the tie dye booty shorts, Mark and Donghyuck pretended to look at clothing and tapestries around the store. 

"The haight was the center of the hippie movement. Like, summer of '69 happened here, you know?" 

"Really?"

Donghyuck nodded. "That's why all the stores sell hippie and weed stuff." 

The other quickly got bored and the group left the shop, walking a few paces into another store at Jeno's insistence. The walls were painted purple and lined with marijuana themed t-shirts, and the counter was a plexi-glass case with weed paraphernalia inside. Jeno immediately started talking to the clerk, and Mark peered through the plexi-glass. 

In the cases were all different sorts of pipes, bongs, and other things Mark didn't know the name for (but had seen Jeno use). Even though Mark knew their use he had to admit the glassware was exquisite; the different colors were bright and intertwined beautifully with each other. Still, he made a face just look at the bongs, remembering that horrible night just a few weeks ago. 

"Barfy," Renjun whispered in his ear. 

"Hey!" Mark whined, just as Jaemin beckoned them out of the store. 

"Now I'm really broke," Jeno mumbled as he put the blue pipe he'd just bought into his bag. The others looked at him for an explanation. "I had to pay for new windows for my mom's car." 

"Fuck, dude, I'm so sorry," Donghyuck said. 

Jeno sighed back. "I had to get this pipe anyways. Those fucking theives took my old one." 

After that, the group made their way through the thrift stores and crystal shops down Haight street. They stopped at a little hole in the wall coffee, Mark buying a drink called the "Audrey Hepburn" (which, by the way, was the best coffee he'd ever tasted). 

As they finished getting their drinks and starting walking further down, Chenle gave Jaemin a worried look. 

"What exactly...is that?" he asked, gesturing to Jaemin's drink. 

"Large Americano, no water just ice, with four extra shots."

"How the fuck are you not dead?" Renjun asked. 

"Because Jeno only lets me drink it twice a day." 

"Twice a day?" Chenle cried. "Even that seems excessive." 

"Twice a day is the best I can get," Jeno explained, wrapping his arm around Jaemin's waist. Jaemin momentarily leaned on Jeno's shoulder before giving him a smile and walking with him. 

"Oh! There's Amoeba," Donghyuck said excitedly. "Can we go in?"

"Of course; I wanna check out the records anyways," Jeno responded. 

The group crossed the street and walked into the store, one of the biggest Mark had seen in the Haight so far. It was definitely a store for used records and CDs and it had a distinct smell, not necessarily bad but he couldn't quite place it. They had to keep their bags in cubbies and give them to the attendants before moving any further inside, so as the others gave up their bags Mark looked around. 

The store seemed to stretch on vast, row after row of CDs and records mostly organized by genre (Mark distinctly noticed no pop music section). The speakers were playing a song Mark didn't know but Donghyuck was mouthing the words to. There were t-shirts and books and patches for denim jackets off in the corner, and Mark all at once felt very out of place. 

"I'm looking for a certain band..." Donghyuck mumbled to Mark once the group was done. The others split up around the store, sifting through its vast collection. 

"Which one?"

"Bikini Kill." Mark cocked his head. "Oh, they're a riot grrl group. Nineties feminist punk. They're my faves and I don't have any of their CDs." 

"You have a CD player?" Mark asked with a laugh. 

"Yeah. I know, I know, records are way cooler and spotify is way more convenient, but CDs are the fuckin best. I have a whole collection at my house." 

"Seriously?" 

Donghyuck nodded. "Not to brag, but I have every Nirvana CD plus their MTV unplugged session and a couple of their concert CDs." He laughed briefly. "Not that I'm one of those kids who thinks their cool just for listening to Nirvana though." 

But Mark kinda did think he was cool for it; his music taste was pretty much limited to whatever was popular in rap and top 40 hits. 

"Anyways....right, Bikini Kill." Donghyuck turned to Mark. "Don't you wanna look around?"

"N-nah, I'll stay with you," Mark responded. He didn't know what he would do here alone, and anyways, he didn't really wanna leave Donghyuck's side. He found Donghyuck love of older and more edgy music very attractive, to say the least. 

Donghyuck grinned and grabbed onto Mark's wrist, turning him perfectly pink as he led him to the back of the store. They past by the rock clearance and metal and opera until they got to the punk section. Donghyuck hummed, looking for the letter B amongst the labels as Mark looked around some more. The walls were covered in posters, from Biggie Smalls to the Beatles to Kurt Cobain, all watching him watch Donghyuck. 

Donghyuck grinned and gasped quietly and Mark looked at him. "They actually have some of their shit! Usually they're sold out." He flicked by the CD cases, the plastic making a soft clicking noise with every one he passed by. 

"Already have that one, already have that one..." He repeatedly mumbled, until finally pulling out a copy. 

"Ah, shit," he said loudly. 

"What?"

"It's new. I mean, not like new-new, but the plastic's still on it."

"And that's a bad thing because...?"

"Then it's priced as new. Twenty bucks instead of five bucks." Donghyuck disappointedly put the CD back and looked around. 

"I'm gonna go find Jaemin; he has good taste in music," Donghyuck said, but Mark stayed still when Donghyuck started to move. "Are you coming with?"

"I'll find you in a minute," Mark said. "I-I think I see a band my dad's mentioned and I wanna look at it."

Donghyuck nodded and gave him a once over, grinning and looking around the store. As he began to walk away Mark immediately went back to the Bikini Kill section, grabbing the CD Donghyuck had put down before. He sighed, stuffing it into his pocket. He didn't know why he'd lied to Donghyuck or why he was doing this at all; he guessed love just did crazy things to people. 

He looked around the store, making sure all his friends were busy before he entered the very short line, paying for the CD. He shoved it deep into his pocket and walked over to where Donghyuck and Jaemin were looking through records. 

"You don't even have a record player," Donghyuck said. 

"Can't I get them for the aesthetic?" Jaemin responded, then sighed. "Fine, you're right, I'm broke, let's go before we buy the whole damn store."

"Or before Jeno blows the rest of his college fund," Donghyuck responded as they all giggled, looking for the others to leave. Donghyuck grinned as soon as he noticed Mark was back. 

"Hey, you," he said softly, grinning at Mark. Mark blushed and averted his eyes shyly as Donghyuck gave him that look that never failed to make the butterflies flutter in his stomach. 

"Stop it, lovebirds, let's go," Renjun responded, tugging them out the door. 

They got their bags back and smiled at each other, still sipping their drinks. 

"Wanna chill for a while at hippie hill?" Jaemin asked. Everyone agreed, despite the fact that Renjun, Chenle, and Mark didn't know what hippie hill was, and followed behind the others. They crossed the street and stepped into the entrance to Golden Gate Park, the pathways lined with homeless and people trying to sell them drugs. Still, it was beautiful, and nobody bothered them when they politely declined the drugs. Their surroundings got darker and darker as the trees grew thicker, but once they passed through a very shadey tunnel everything was perfect. 

The grass was green and trimmed for age and ages into the distance, a small path weaving its way through the greenery. To the right was a hill, which Mark assumed was the hippie hill in question, with people laying down on the side facing them. There were couples and friends and people by themselves, and people reading and listening to music and smoking, and even though cops showed up every so often their didn't care seem to care. On the way over, Jeno had explained they were looking for people doing harder drugs than just pot. 

At the bottom of the hill was a group of twenty people, dressed in that typical hippie style, long hair and peasant skirts flowing. They danced in a circle and played the bongo drums, and the people around watched or joined in or just listened, their eyes towards the sky. Mark would've laughed at the ridiculousness of it all but it was so relaxing, so atmostpheric, that it didn't feel out of place at all. 

The seven boys took their seats on the grass, sipping their drinks for a moment. Chenle and Renjun laid down altogether, and Jaemin nestled himself in between Jeno's legs. Donghyuck was about to turn to Mark, however, when Jisung grabbed him by the arm. 

"I haven't drawn you yet," he said, pulling Mark a bit off to the side so he could concentrate while Donghyuck looked on forlornly. "You're the only one I haven't gotten to."

Mark nodded and Jisung took a hit off his juul before opening up his notebook, starting to sketch. Things were silent for a while, as Jisung was always quiet and Mark was always awkward with people he didn't know that well (and sometimes even with people he did). 

Mark sighed contentedly, simply listening to the bongo drums and the noise of Jisung's pencil scratching the paper. He kinda wished he was with Donghyuck at that moment, but at the same time it was nice to be able to think about all of this in the cool breeze. Think about how cute Donghyuck was, how cool, how smart, how--

"Is that a Bikini Kill CD?" Jisung asked. Mark flushed and realized the CD has started to slip out of his pocket. He simply nodded, stuffing it back inside. "Pussy whipped. That's one of my favorite albums of theirs," he said more to himself than Mark. Mark hummed back, just uncomfortably enough that Jisung would notice something was off. "Did Hyuck introduce you to them? I know he was looking for that specific CD--" 

When Mark flushed even further, Jisung realized what he had done and stopped in the middle of his sentence. "Oh..." he mumbled, pausing in his sketching to do that little head tilt-wince thing he did sometimes, the physical representation of the phrase 'oof'. 

"Are you guys together?" Jisung asked very quietly. 

"N-no...." Mark stuttered back, then sighed. "It was stupid of me to buy it. I don't even know when I'll give it to him without looking like a total stalker or someone who's obsessed with him." 

"He won't think that," Jisung responded, looking up at Mark briefly before sketching. "If you give it to him, he'll just know you like him. Does that scare you?" 

Mark nodded shyly and Jisung hummed. "How much?" 

Mark sighed and chuckled with embarrassment. "I'm crazy about him," he admitted, not sure why he was spilling his guts to this soon to be senior he didn't know that well. 

Jisung didn't say anything for a long while. "I don't get it. He's crazy about you too; why aren't you two together already?"

"He is?" Mark asked with genuine surprise. Jisung gave him a 'duh' look in response and waited for Mark to give him a real answer. 

Mark sighed, again. "I-I guess I'm just afraid. Of a lot of things." 

"Don't be," Jisung said simply. "You're eighteen. Live a little." He suddenly shut the notebook and gave Mark a small smile. 

"Is it done?" Can I see it?" 

"No way. Now go back and cuddle with your mans." 

"He's not my mans!" 

Jisung gave him another 'duh' look. Mark giggled and went back to Donghyuck, maybe just sorta kinda a little bit wishing Lee Donghyuck really was his mans. 


	8. 7

As a 'on the verge between tipsy and drunk' Mark sat in the back of the lyft, he wondered if maybe it was a bad idea for the boys to go to another rave. 

That evening they'd all met up at Jaemin's house, raided his parents untouched liquor cabinet and got pretty wasted. Now they were all crammed in one lyft, on their way to the DNA lounge armed with tickets they'd all bought on a drunken whim earlier that night. 

"Chenle, you better let me sleep over!" Renjun yelled to the back where he and Jisung were laughing their asses off. 

"DUh!" Chenle screamed back, the lyft driver grimacing to himself as the seven boys made a drunken rucous in the car. 

"Thank god we're not taking my fucking car," Jeno drawled. "We can have fun." 

"No worries babe," Jaemin responded, kissing up on Jeno's neck, only stopping when both the driver and Renjun shot him a glare. 

Finally they arrived, and he let them out. They responded with loud "thank yous!" before heading inside, the line short since the rave had already begun. 

Mark remembered everything like the first rave had happened yesterday. The flashing lights, the throbbing bass, the youthful bodies crammed into the tiny dark space, the scent of liquor and body odor and teenage rebellion in its least refined form. 

But last time Mark had been way more sober. Now, everything seeped into him in a different way; he felt like he was a part of the walls and the floors and the people around him, the pulsating music ringing in his ears, everything just slightly blurry but his adrenaline was on high. 

"Woo!" He cried, and everyone laughed but he couldn't care less, god damn he'd never felt more alive. 

Chenle and Jisung cheered, grabbing onto each other's hands to not get separated and running up to the second floor. The others watched them go with a giggle, the bottoms of their asses hanging out of the tiny booty shorts they'd borrowed from Jaemin for the occasion. 

They were all lucky they'd been at Jaemin's when they decided to go, because his closet was absolutely loaded with rave clothes (he swore by dollskill and bought one item from them every month). Jaemin chose the more wild approach, glitter and neon and bare legs and tight clothes. Jeno, too, was half naked, although it was more to keep other guys away from Jaemin rather than impress people himself. Donghyuck smelled like middle school girls but he was the picture of masculinity, the leather jacket of his layered over another see through top (where Mark could make out a faint tattoo on his chest). While Renjun and Mark were more tame, they weren't dressed like edgy youth pastors like last time; opting for more trendy work pants and revealing tops. 

"I'm gonna go find the kids," Renjun yelled over the music. "Make sure they don't do anything stupid." 

"You're too late!" Jeno yelled back. 

"Good luck finding them too," Jaemin added. Renjun sighed and bounded up the stairs after them, the white of his t-shirt glowing under the blacklights. 

The four boys left over began to dance, no inhibitions when the alcohol and the bass flowed through Mark's veins.

Mark wasn't nervous about anything at all for once in his god damn life so he leaned in closer to Donghyuck, Donghyuck catching him by wrapping an arm around his waist. 

"Is that another tattoo on your chest?" He asked, blantantly staring through Donghyuck see through shirt. 

Donghyuck grinned. "Yup. Another stick and poke; one of Jisung's masterpieces." 

Mark bit his lip and in his head, said 'fuck it.' "Show me it sometime," he responded with a giggle, pulling away and right out laughing. Donghyuck gave him a surprised look and a smirky grin; and Mark knew Donghyuck would take him up on that offer. 

"Tease," Jaemin mouthed to Donghyuck, gesturing to Mark. 

"Fuck," Donghyuck mouthed back, with feeling, but Mark didn't notice, ruffling his hair and following the music. 

Dancing with his friends was fun and friendly until Jaemin and Jeno dancing on each other became Jaemin and Jeno grinding on each other. And when Jaemin and Jeno grinding on each other turned into Jaemin and Jeno making out with each other, in the middle of the dance floor no less, bumping into everyone around them, Mark and Donghyuck figured it was time to leave them be. 

The two of them pushed their way from the middle of the dance floor to right in front of the stage, gripping each other's hands so they wouldn't lose each other in the massive crowd. If Mark was sober he would've been nervous and shy and thrilled by this simple touch but he was just fucking drunk and it felt natural, it felt right. 

Mark and Donghyuck looked at each other and giggled softly with joy, a tension there that had never existed before that Mark couldn't place. He tried to laugh it away before dancing closer and closer, and without question Donghyuck came in too. 

The smile came off Mark's face but it wasn't because he was unhappy. No, now he was too enthralled with Donghyuck; everything else faded away except the music and Donghyuck looking at him. His heart began to pump in his chest; he could feel it, and his breathing was fast. Butterflies terrorized his stomach but he wasn't nervous, just excited, something sober Mark would never have the liberty of. 

Donghyuck stared back at him, the look in his eyes combining his lust and affection to make pure passion, and Mark swore his heart had never beat harder. Their eyes were on each other, nothing and nobody could break their contact in that moment. Donghyuck's eyes flickered once, twice down to Mark's lips, and finally Mark realized this was really going to happen. 

Mark had spent his entire friendship convincing himself that Donghyuck could never like him, that Donghyuck was way too cool for him, that Donghyuck could never be attracted to him either physically or romantically. But here he was, Donghyuck's eyes on his lips, dancing closer until their chests pressed together. Mark could feel Donghyuck's breaths fan across his face and he briefly thought about how it had been literally years since he'd kissed anyone, oh god he was out of practice, and what if this was just physical? What if Donghyuck only wanted him for this? 

Mark didn't care all that much, his brain couldn't process really anything at that moment and he was just gratefully Donghyuck wanted him in any way at all. Donghyuck wrapped his arms around Mark's waist, as if a cue that yes, he could do it, and Mark started to shut his eyes when--

"Mark!" Renjun yelled, suddenly shaking his shoulder. His voice was panicked but Donghyuck and Mark just turned to him with extreme disappointment. 

"Renjun! Dude!" Donghyuck yelled with genuine anger. Renjun grimaced and realized he'd interrupted an important moment. 

"Sorry," he responded genuinely. "But it's serious." He turned to Mark. "Chenle drank too much; he's puking in the bathroom." 

"Shit," Mark groaned, and the three of them raced to the bathroom, sobering up surprisingly quickly. 

Mark squinted at the bright lights of the bathroom, glitter mixed with water drenching the sink. Jisung was inside too, standing outside one of the stalls with a worried expression. 

"I'll go get Jeno and Jaemin," Donghyuck said, rushing out. Mark nodded at him and knocked on one of the smaller stalls. 

"Can I come in?" He asked softly. Chenle released a tiny, pathetic noise, and Mark pushed his way inside. 

Chenle was crouched over the toilet bowl, leaning his head on one side of it. The longer parts of his dyed green hair had begun to fall into the toilet water, so Mark combed his fingers through them and held them back. 

"I'm sorry," Chenle croaked out after a few minutes. 

"No, it's alright," Mark answered. And he was telling the truth; even though he wished he'd been able to kiss Donghyuck, knowing his best friend was safe was so, so much more important. 

"I bet you were having fun," Chenle drawled sadly. 

"It's totally fine, Chenle. I just wanna be here with you." Mark grimaced as he suddenly heard the noises of Chenle throwing up into the toilet bowl, immediately feeling bad for Jeno and Donghyuck that time he threw up in Jeno's sink. It really was just as gross as teen movies made it out to be. 

Chenle started to wipe his mouth on his sleeve and Mark passed him a piece of toilet paper. 

"Thanks," Chenle said quietly. It was odd being in this tiny, crammed stall with Chenle; he'd never heard him be so quiet before. It was so damn hot that Mark had worked up a massive sweat just by standing in there, claustrophobia pushing at him but he couldn't care less. Luckily he still had alcohol in him or he would've been in an absolute panic over Chenle's health. 

He tried to think of what could help Chenle out. Probably getting him home would be their best bet, and getting some water. 

"Renjun?" Mark called. 

"Yeah?"

"Could you get me a bottle of water?" 

"Yeah," he responded, opening the door. Jeno and Jaemin peered in from the outside, wearing a worried expression before it softened. They shared a look and nodded as Renjun grabbed some cash from Jeno to get the water bottle. 

He returned a few moments later, passing it to Mark who immediately insisted Chenle drink some. 

"Don't worry," Renjun whispered. "Jeno and Jaemin say he'll be fine. Not even close to alcohol poisoning." 

"Are you sure?" Mark whispered back, still holding Chenle's hair as he puked up another round. 

Renjun nodded and Jaemin stepped beside him. "I'm sure. He just had too much cheap spiced rum; that always does you in. We should get him home though." 

Mark nodded and looked down at Chenle, who pouted at him from the corner of his eye. 

"Could you shut the door? I'm embarrassed," Chenle asked, and Mark immediately obliged. 

"Are you doing better?" Mark asked. 

"A little," Chenle responded quietly. 

"Can you sit up or stand?" Chenle sat up for a few moments but leaned back down to throw up again. 

"I'm sorry," Chenle mumbled, reaching to wipe his mouth on his sleeve again before Mark passed another tissue to him. 

"It's okay, Lele," Mark responded affectionately, braiding the little hairs he held back. "It happens to all of us." 

"It's the first time for me." 

Mark sighed, remembering Chenle was a year younger than him, how this all might be just a bit scarier. He rubbed his shoulder as Chenle made another attempt to sit up. This time it worked, even though his eyes looked like his head was spinning. 

"I'm sorry," he repeated. 

"You don't have to keep saying it," Mark responded gently. 

"You...you're such a good friend to me. Even though I'm stupid." 

"You're not stupid!" Mark cried. 

"I wish I was smart like you. I admire you so much, Mark. Maybe you're a little boring but....you know everything." 

"I don't know everything, Lele. I can promise you that. I don't know very much, actually. Fuck, I don't even know how to get the guy that legit likes me to be my boyfriend." 

"Me either," Chenle responded softly with a sigh. Mark's curiosity was immediately peaked, but he didn't press. "I'm sorry," he added after the silence. 

"You don't have to say that anymore," Mark responded. "I just wanna know you're alright. Are you feeling better?"

Chenle nodded and looked up at Mark, immediately groaning and clutching his head. 

"Thank you...." 

"It's nothing, I swear. Any good friend would do the same." 

"No Mark. Thank you...for being my friend." 

Mark was suddenly overwhelmed with love for one of his best friends, the silly happy goofy joyous friend he sometimes forgot had feelings too. Mark rubbed his shoulder and gave him a smile. 

"It's an honor," he responded. "Can you stand up? I really wanna get you home." 

Chenle nodded and stood up, almost falling and catching himself on Mark's shoulder. Mark wrapped another arm around his shoulder, and the pair pushed their way out of the bathroom. 

When the others saw the two they immediately cheered, Jisung throwing Chenle a smile. 

"Alright, I'll order you guys a lyft," Donghyuck said, pulling out his phone. 

"Chenle, can Renjun and Mark sleep over?" Jaemin asked

Chenle nodded, and Jaemin turned to Mark and Renjun while Jisung helped hold Chenle up. "I want you guys to watch out for him. Make sure he takes an advil, drinks plenty of water, and sleeps on his side, alright?" Mark and Renjun nodded in understanding, and Jeno patted Chenle on the back. 

"I'm sorry your raves keep getting ruined," he said. 

"It was fun while it lasted," Mark responded with a genuine smile. 

Chenle groaned loudly. "I'm never drinking again." 


	9. 8

A few days after Chenle had recovered his brutal hangover, Mark and his friends decided to meet back up in the Mission to hang out at Dolores Park. The summer was beginning to come to a close, and it felt right to hang out as a group where they'd all met. It was warm in the mission too; a nice reprieve from the cold fog and biting breeze everywhere else in the city. Anyways, Mark’s almost kiss with Donghyuck left him on edge, and he was anxious to see him again.

Chenle wanted boba so they decided to meet at boba guys, the most expensive and pretentious (but also most delicious) boba place in the whole city. Mark and Renjun were the first there, so they got in line.

“Are you okay?” Renjun asked a very smiley Mark.

“Yeah!” He responded. “Just excited to see Hyuck.”

“Did you two ever get that kiss?” Mark shook his head. “Well good luck then dude.”

Mark grinned back at his friend as Chenle and the others cut the line, leaping onto their friend’s backs for a hug.

“Hi!” Chenle cheered.

“It’s nice to see you not throwing up,” Mark responded. Chenle pouted and Jaemin laughed.

“What are you all getting?” Jeno asked.

“I’m not really in the mood for boba,” Renjun responded.

“Let’s go to bi-rite after then. I want ice cream too,” Jisung responded, taking a hit off his juul while they were still in line outside the small store.

Suddenly, Mark felt an arm snake around his waist and breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn’t seen Donghyuck in the crowd of his friends moments earlier.

“Hey,” Donghyuck mumbled softly in Mark’s ear.

“H-hi,” he responded, looking up at Donghyuck. The sun was shining bright that day and Donghyuck was grinning; it brought out his eyes and his skin tone and Mark didn’t think he’d ever looked more beautiful.

“Whatcha getting?”

“Strawberry matcha.”

“Good choice.” They were next in line and Donghyuck stepped in front of Mark.

“I’ll have a Thai tea with boba and a strawberry matcha with boba,” he said to the cashier.

“Hyuck! You don’t have to!” Mark cried out, trying to push some cash to Donghyuck. Donghyuck just shook his head and flicked the money away.

“My treat,” he said, and Mark flushed.

“Why don’t you ever treat me?” Jaemin whined from where he was waiting for his drink.

“Because you’re ugly.”

“Am not!”

“Compared to Mark you are.” Mark flushed even deeper but Donghyuck just grinned, unfazed, and grabbed his receipt.

“Thank you,” Mark said shyly.

“It’s nothing,” Donghyuck responded.

Once they all had their drinks they made their way to bi-rite creamery, where Renjun and Jisung got their hipster soft serve. After everyone had a bite (much to their chagrin) they all went up to Dolores Park, sitting right down on that spot where they’d all met.

The late afternoon sun was bright and warm and the sounds of chatter filled the air, as Mark laid down with his back on the grass. Donghyuck laid down next to him, giving him a longing look before his eyes turned to the sky too. The sounds of his friends began to fade away: Chenle’s giggling, the aerated noise of Jisung’s juul and the scratch of his pencil against notebook paper, Renjun talking softly, Jaemin laughing back, Jeno leaving soft kisses along the back of Jaemin’s neck. All of these sounds faded away as Mark retreated into his own head, not even thinking at that point except to mull over how nice this all ways. It was nice to have more friends, especially ones that were so different from him. It was nice to have Donghyuck in his life. Even if his presence wasn’t to the capacity of what he wanted, it was still nice.

Mark looked over at Donghyuck, noticing the slow pace of how his chest rose and fell with his breaths. He just stared at that for a long while, the tiredness seeping into his skin. Donghyuck was on the verge of sleep and Mark was too, the sun like a blanket over his thin teen boy body.

Mark has no idea how long had passed when Jeno shook him by the shoulder, his eyes shooting open.

“Could we talk to you?” Jaemin was standing just behind where Jeno was crouched over his friend.

“M-hmm,” Mark responded, sitting up and shaking the grass out of his hair. He spared a glance to his right and saw Donghyuck really was asleep. All at once Mark just wanted to lay down next to him, curved around Donghyuck, his head in the crook of his neck. But he tore his eyes away and stood up with a groan, following after Jeno and Jaemin.

They sat down a short distance from their friends, sparing a last glance at Donghyuck’s sleeping form.

“Do you remember when we talked to you earlier this summer? About staying away from Hyuck?” Jeno asked, and Mark nodded.

“Well.... we wanna take that back,” Jaemin spoke. Mark gave them a surprised look.

“Like.... Donghyuck’s great. He’s our best friend and he had his issues, but so do the rest of us,” Jeno explained.

“Anyways, you two are something else, I swear. You’re perfect for him,” Jaemin added.

“Like soulmates or something... I dunno,” Jeno finished, and sighed. “We honestly feel really guilty about saying that shit earlier.”

“I know! Especially since you guys haven’t even kissed yet and summer’s almost over,” Jaemin said guilty.

Mark simply nodded, taking in his friend’s words. He’d known Donghyuck was good for him all along, but his friend’s own confirmation helped things a lot. It gave him the confidence he needed for this (hopefully) budding romance.

“Thanks guys,” Mark eventually said. “I needed that.”

“Good. Now let’s go rejoin the others before they think we’re planning a threesome,” Jaemin said. Mark giggled and they stood up, running back to the others.

“What were you guys doing? Planning a threesome?” Renjun asked.

“Too late,” Jeno mumbled.

“Without me?” Donghyuck cried; he’d woken up a few minutes ago.

"You wish, hun,” Jaemin responded.

“Donghyuck, Mark! Cmhere; I wanna draw a picture of you two together,” Jisung called, interrupting the previous conversation. Mark and Donghyuck shared a look and sat down in front of Jisung.

“Pick a pose,” Jisung said. Donghyuck casually wrapped his arm around Mark’s shoulders. Mark gave him a smile and Donghyuck giggles back, and Mark couldn’t help but think he was adorable.

Jisung smiled at them and cooed under his breath before starting to draw, the two boys holding mostly still.

The younger boy drew them for much longer than Mark’s solo picture, and when Mark looked over he noticed Jisung was making multiple sketches of them. Mark didn’t mind though; it was nice to just sit here in peace (especially with Donghyuck’s strong arm around him).

By the time Jisung decisively shut his notebook, the sun had begun to set in the sky, casting orange, blue, pink, yellow, lilac over the park.

Jeno yawned and Jaemin mumbled, "cute."

“I think we’re gonna head home,” Jaemin said. “We wanna watch a movie.”

“I’m tired too,” Chenle said. Everyone except Donghyuck and Mark forced their agreements, and stood up to leave.

“Do you wanna stay with me?” Donghyuck asked quietly. Mark nodded back without question; he was craving alone time with the boy.

Donghyuck told the others him and Mark were staying as Mark texted his mom he was eating at Chenle’s for dinner. The boys cooed and teased them before heading back to their bus stops with gentle waves goodbye. 

Once everyone was gone, Mark and Donghyuck shared a look before staring shyly at their shoes. Mark could feel that tension again, like from the last rave, and he didn’t quite know what to do. All he could tell was that it was nagging at the back of his head, unrelenting. 

He looked up and around him. The park wasn’t nearly as crowded as this afternoon but it was still dotted with people, eating an early dinner or gathering their children to go home. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, the colors even more vibrant than before.

"Mark," Donghyuck said, more seriously than he'd ever heard him speak. The single syllable of his name was carefully spoken, as if Donghyuck was mulling over each letter. 

Mark looked up at him and could barely hold eye contact. There was that tension, that seriousness, and an unnatural nervousness all in Donghyuck's eyes. It was too much and he had to look down at his feet again. 

"Yeah?"

Donghyuck sighed; out of the corner of Mark's eye he could see Donghyuck's tattooed hand was trembling. "I...." He started, then sighed. "Fuck, I'm usually much better at this," he groaned. Mark's nerves were growing too; he wasn't sure what was going on but something was building. Donghyuck sighed again, pointedly this time. "I feel like a fuckin' seventh grader right now, but Mark, god I'm just so nervous." Donghyuck chuckled uncomfortably, and now Mark was genuinely worried. 

"What's going on?" He asked breathlessly. 

"I just...I usually am so good at saying this, but if you don't...I-I'll be really hurt, like...fuck, I guess I just never really cared that much before....shit." Mark just stared at him expectantly and waited for him to spit out his words. Now, Mark was the one looking at Donghyuck, and Donghyuck was staring at his doc marten boots.

"Shit, well, here goes fuck-all...." Mark was too nervous to even make fun of Donghyuck for his word choice. "I-I feel like even though I haven't said it already you should know, and if you were like....anyone else already we'd be going out, but you haven't made a move and I don't even know if you feel....well, Renjun assured me you did and that you were just oblivious, and I'd have to straight up tell you or else you'd never get the fucking idea..." Donghyuck sighed, yet again, and found the courage to look Mark in the eye. "Mark...I'm into you. Not just into you...really into you. So much, you have no idea." 

Mark had been running the idea in his head of Donghyuck liking him back ever since his crush had first developed, not helped by his friend's constant reassurances that yes, Donghyuck liked him. But a part of Mark had never let himself believe it to be true. Deep seated insecurities, founded in his youth and cemented in his fruitless high school years, had cast a veil over his own vision of himself and the way people saw him. In reality, he'd had no idea this day would ever come. 

Most people Mark and Donghyuck's age would've laughed at how dramatic they were being; after all this wasn't middle school any more. But damn it, Mark never got that middle school experienced; he was inexperienced and touch starved and he'd been pining so hard this whole summer that his heart almost ached. He deserved to feel this way; this joyous, this nervous, this astounded. 

When Mark finally came to his senses he noticed Donghyuck looked terrified, his hands were shaking anymore and his expression was one of absolute panic. 

"F-fuck, Donghyuck, I-" He started; he was so surprised at Donghyuck's confession that he'd been silent too long. Now Donghyuck thought he didn't feel the same way. 

"Shit, n-never mind," Donghyuck mumbled, reaching for his things. 

"Stop!" Mark cried. Donghyuck froze. "I like you too. I-I'm just really surprised." 

A brief expression of joy flashed over Donghyuck's face before he deadpanned. "You're fucking surprised?" 

Mark nodded shyly, pink dotting his cheeks. 

"I thought I was being obvious as hell...shit, Renjun was right." Donghyuck laughed and it was the happiest noise Mark had ever heard him make. He cast his eyes to Mark and they locked, both unable to keep the nervous smiles off of their faces. Mark bit his lip and looked at the ground before looking back up at Donghyuck's smiling face, his heart beating a little harder in his chest. Donghyuck liked him...like, like-liked him. Cool, charismatic, funny, kind Donghyuck liked him back. He could barely even believe it. 

"Wh-what happens next?" He asked shyly. 

"I dunno, I haven't actually had to straight up confess to someone since freshman year of high school," Donghyuck teased, but Mark couldn't find it in himself to be hurt in the slightest. "But, I would like to kiss you, if you wanted." 

"Y-yeah," Mark stuttered back breathlessly. "I'd like that." 

Mark felt excited and unsure as Donghyuck scooted in closer, resting one of his hands on Mark's waist and the other on his cheek. Mark hadn't kissed anyone since he was, like, fourteen, and he wasn't even sure if he remembered how. Donghyuck gave Mark a quick once over before leaning in, pressing his lips to Mark's. 

A burst of butterflies and adrenaline came over him as Donghyuck's soft lips pressed against his own, forgetting how to breath for a moment before his mouth caught up to his brain and he remembered how to kiss back. It felt good in every way possible: like the end of waiting but the beginning of something new, at the very same time. 

Donghyuck pulled away, panting slightly. "I honestly didn't expect you to be so good at that," he admitted. 

"Can you kiss me again?" Mark simply asked, in a small shy voice. And of course, who was Donghyuck to tell him no? 


	10. 9

Mark had to admit that this week of being Donghyuck's boyfriend was the best week of his entire life. It wasn't like they'd met up every day; they'd gone on a date or two and hung out with the rest of their group once or twice. But to Mark, every little moment was special: every peck on the lips, every arm around his waist, every knowing smile, every blatant compliment, every midnight text, every phone call just to say how much he liked him. Mark had been craving this since he was in middle school and finally, he was getting the romance he'd always wanted, from someone he cared about so deeply. 

But Mark was especially excited about this day. Mark's parents both had to work late, and he was pretty tired from drinking with his the night before. So, he'd invited Donghyuck over to watch a movie. It wasn't like he was planning to have sex; he definitely wasn't ready for it with anyone, even someone he trusted like Donghyuck. But he was open to doing other things, and he wanted to see where the afternoon took him. Donghyuck was freakishly handsome, after all, and the hardest kiss they'd had was the one right after Donghyuck's confession. 

Donghyuck had shown up early so Mark was still in his sweatpants, his hair sticking up in every direction. But Donghyuck was dressed pretty casually too, and had said Mark was cute as he kissed his cheek and flattened out his hair, so Mark couldn't be embarrassed in the slightest. 

After a very, very quick house tour (San Francisco apartments are tiny), the couple flopped onto Mark's bed. Mark opened his laptop and turned to Donghyuck. 

"What should we watch?" Mark asked. 

"I dunno, some shitty action movie maybe?" 

"Don't you wanna watch something good?" 

Donghyuck gave Mark a deadpan stare. "You invited me over to watch a movie?" 

Mark flushed and opened his laptop, not responding to Donghyuck's retorical question. He did as Donghyuck told, picking a random action movie on netflix, and putting the laptop on his lap. He was still blushing as he crossed his arms, leaning against the wall behind his bed. Donghyuck snuggled in next to him, wrapping his arm around Mark's shoulders. Mark was suddenly afraid Donghyuck thought his embarrassment meant he didn't want to do...stuff, so he rested his head on Donghyuck's shoulder and gave him a little smile. 

Donghyuck looked back down at him and his expression turned from a bright smile to a darker grin. As the dialogue of the movie started, Donghyuck's tattooed fingers skittered over Mark's cheeks, leading him in for a deep kiss. 

Mark leaned in close, albeit still shy, and rested a hand on Donghyuck's shoulder and the other on his cheek. Donghyuck wrapped a hand around Mark's slim waist, clutching in a way that made Mark's brain turn to dust. 

Donghyuck tilted his head and Mark met him, both pressing in closer at the same time so their t-shirt clothed chests were touching. Mark could feel the muscles underneath Donghyuck's shirt and he felt an inexplicable spike in him. 

They both pulled away, panting, as Donghyuck looked Mark over. 

"I-I'm sorry if I'm not so good, I haven't done this stuff since I was a freshman," Mark explained nervously, briefly remembering his wild week at Cazadero band camp when he was fourteen. 

"You're good baby. Trust me, you're good." Donghyuck's voice was way lower than usual, with a gravelly tone to it, and it made Mark want to kiss him again. So he did, pressing his lips to Donghyuck's plush ones, and Donghyuck made a noise that just sent him. 

Donghyuck's tongue pressed against Mark's lips and Mark let him in, blushing even with his eyes closed as he frenched for the first time in years. Still, it was good. Donghyuck was so fucking good, his mouth, his tongue, his lips, his hands, running up and down Mark's spine, it was...good. 

Donghyuck pulled away again and Mark was confused for a moment, but soon he felt Donghyuck's lips against his jaw line. His kisses were light but growing harsher as they moved to Mark's pale neck, sucking on the skin. 

That elicited a whimper from Mark; he'd never done this at summer camp, and he could hear Donghyuck's breathing pick up from the noise. Mark clung to Donghyuck's shirt desperately, it felt too incredible to comprehend. 

Donghyuck clambered to kiss Mark on the lips again, no shyness prevalent anymore, Mark didn't have enough time to be embarrassed about his lack of experience. But his neck was starting to ache from the position, and Mark assumed Donghyuck's was too because soon enough, a hand trailed up his thigh. It was almost too close for comfort but Mark liked it that way, and when Donghyuck sat up, pulling Mark's leg over his lap, Mark did nothing to resist. 

Mark straddled Donghyuck, his arms around Donghyuck's neck, his skin flushed as Donghyuck kissed him. His lips were slow and languid, almost lazy, but there was a fire and passion in them that proved to Mark that he cared. Their tongues slid together and Mark felt (even though his brain was too fuzzy to explain exactly what he was feeling in that moment). 

"So perfect," Donghyuck mumbled against Mark's lips, kissing the side of his neck again. Mark could only mewl and recapture his lover's lips. 

But as the creaking of his door suddenly filled Mark's ears, all the positive emotions drifted away. As he scrambled away from Donghyuck he could only feel anxiety, sadness, and a petrifying fear that took over his entire body. Mark looked up to see his mother, wearing a confused yet stony expression on her face. 

She was silent, dropping her groceries to the ground. Mark trembled in place; Donghyuck had never seen him so afraid, and he didn't know what to do. 

He looked back and forth at them before breaking the horrified silence. "Uh, hi, um, I'm Donghyuck, I'm--"

"Get out," his mother growled. Mark looked panicked at Donghyuck now, and Donghyuck didn't know what to do, he didn't know whether his expression meant stay or go. "Get out or when Mark's father gets home he beats your ass." 

Donghyuck bit back a gasp. Mark had never talked about his family, only that they were strict, but Donghyuck was sure that if they were abusive Renjun or Mark might've told him. 

Mark made the smallest gesture with his head. "Go," it meant, and with wide eyes Donghyuck grabbed his backpack and left the house. 

Donghyuck was terrified now; he didn't want to leave Mark alone there, he didn't know what his parents were capable of. So he crossed the street and sat down on Mark's neighbor's stoop, taking out his phone with his own trembling hands (just in case he needed to call the police). Even so far away, Donghyuck could hear the screaming conversation from inside Mark's home. 

"What were you doing with that boy?" Mark's mother screamed. "You're not a faggot are you?" Donghyuck winced and tried to listen for Mark's response, but he couldn't hear it. 

"Who is he?" 

Donghyuck listened, but again he couldn't hear Mark's response. 

"What did you just say?" 

"He's my boyfriend, mom!" Mark finally yelled back. 

"You're disgusting!" Mark's mother screamed over him. Donghyuck couldn't hear what she said next. 

"We weren't having sex, I swear!" Mark yelled back, and Donghyuck could hear the tears in his voice. 

"So this is what you've been doing all summer, running around making a fool out of yourself, disrespecting the rules we made to keep you safe!" 

"No! It's not like that, it's-"

"Just wait until your father hears about this!" 

Donghyuck heard the noise of a door slamming and unintelligible screaming from Mark's mother. 

"Mark Lee just where do you think you're going-" 

Suddenly, Mark appeared from his doorway and slammed the door shut. He was carrying a duffel bag and his face was streaked with tears. He looked more broken than Donghyuck had ever wanted to see him. 

But a look of hope crossed his face when he saw Donghyuck waiting for him, running across the street without looking either way, and capturing him in a massive hug. 

Donghyuck swallowed down his own upset tears, on behalf of his boyfriend, and let him cry into his chest. 

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Mark asked, not out of annoyance. 

"When I saw how upset your mom was, I didn't want to leave you alone. I wanted to make sure you'd be okay," Donghyuck mumbled soothingly into Mark's ear. "Did she hurt you?" 

Mark shook his head and Donghyuck pet his boyfriends hair gently. "If you need to, you can spend the night you know. My parents won't mind; they'll understand." 

"Th-thank you," Mark stuttered. "I-I'm sorry you have to see me like this." 

"Baby, no. Don't you dare blame yourself," Donghyuck said softly. 

"C-can we walk?" Mark asked. Donghyuck nodded and picked up Mark's surprisingly heavy bag, taking his hand and walking down the street towards Donghyuck's bus stop. Mark gripped his hands tightly, as if he'd die if he let go. 

Donghyuck let Mark sniffle for a few moments to calm down, keeping silent. "Did she not know about me?" 

"I'm not out," Mark responded in a croaky voice. "I mean, I-I wasn't." This brought on a new wave of tears, rubbing them away with his soft hand, and Donghyuck felt his heart physically break. 

They reached the stop and Donghyuck sat down on the bench, pulling Mark across his lap. Mark laid down with his head on Donghyuck's eyes, looking up at him with his red rimmed, watery eyes. Donghyuck pet his hair and Mark relaxed every so slightly at his gentle touch. 

The sky fell dark and the two of them just laid there, the bus to Donghyuck's house severely delayed. But Donghyuck didn't mind, he knew Mark needed lots of time to calm down, and anyways the stop was entirely empty so they had their privacy. 

"I'll always be here for you," Donghyuck mumbled after a long while. "I promise. No matter what happens, I'm here to support you." 

"Thank you," Mark responded in the smallest voice, kissing the tattooed hand that was petting his hair. Donghyuck bent down to give him a quick kiss, but as he pulled away Mark's phone began to ring. The caller ID says it was Mark's mom, and Donghyuck didn't know how to feel. 

"H-hello?" Mark asked, biting his lip and trying to hold back from crying. 

"Are you alright? P-please say you're alright," Donghyuck heard her sob through the tinny speaker. 

"Yeah, I'm alright," Mark answered. 

"I'm so sorry," she choked out, to Donghyuck's surprise. "I don't know what got into me, I'm so sorry, I....c-can you come home? I think we should talk about this." 

"A-alright," Mark stuttered. "I'll be home in a few minutes." 

"I'm sorry," she repeated. 

"I'll see you soon," Mark responded, and hung up. He looked at Donghyuck nervously. 

"Will you be okay?" Donghyuck asked. 

Mark nodded. "I know deep down my parents are good people. They wouldn't hurt me." 

"I'll text you my address just in case," Donghyuck responded. He finished and Mark hugged him tightly. 

"Thank you. For everything," Mark mumbled into his shoulder. 

"Let me know once everything's said and done. Please call me, okay? I'll be up all night if you don't." 

"Of course," Mark said quietly, taking the duffel bag and swinging it over his shoulder. 

"Do you want me to walk you?" 

Mark shook his head. "I think it'd be best if I went alone." 

Donghyuck nodded in understanding, tucking a lock of Mark's hair behind his ear before pecking his lips. "Stay safe baby. Call me as soon as possible." 

"I will, I promise." Mark waved goodbye and started walking back towards his house, and Donghyuck knew he couldn't do anything but wait for his phone to ring. 


	11. 10

A few weeks into August, the seven boys decided to meet up, for the final time that summer. As they got their boba tea (after waiting in line for half an hour) and ice cream and walked into Dolores Park, a bittersweet feeling took over all of them. They were happy to be together, but at the same time, they all knew it would never be like this again, not to mention that for most of them, school was starting in just a few days. 

Jeno laid an old sheet down on the grass at the top of their hill on Dolores Park, and they all sat down: Jaemin rested his head on Jeno's chest, Chenle and Jisung laid on their stomachs, and Donghyuck leaned against a tree, Mark sitting between his legs. Donghyuck played with Mark's hands, a small gesture almost protective in nature. 

"Mark, dude, whatever happened with your mom? Donghyuck was fucking freaking out the other-" Jeno started, but Donghyuck made a gesture for him to shut up. Maybe Donghyuck had called Jeno in tears on the phone after Mark went home that day, with worry and sorrow and sympathy in his heart, but Mark didn't need to know that. They'd only been together two weeks, after all. 

"Oh, yeah, that," Mark responded with a chuckle that did little to hide his sadness. "She caught Hyuck and I making out in my room and she was so pissed. I mean, I wasn't, out, so I can see that it was kinda shocking to her..."

"She literally screamed slurs at you, don't downplay it," Donghyuck interrupted. 

"Holy shit Mark, I'm so sorry," Jaemin said, his voice unusually serious. 

"A-anyways," he stuttered, staring down at his lap, feeling a bit of comfort seeing Donghyuck's hands wrapped around his. "Donghyuck and I walked around for a little bit so I could cool off. Like an hour later she called me and said she was sorry, and asked me to come home, so I did." He sighed. "When I got home my dad was there too, so I was like...really nervous. But...my mom gave me a sincere apology. She didn't mean to say things like that. They were just mad that I'd lied about where I was the whole summer, but they weren't even that mad because they realized they were probably too strict on me. They said they'll be less strict if I promise to let them know where I am. And as for the whole gay thing...they're still kinda surprised and a little weirded out, but they promised they'll learn."

"Dude, that's...I'm sorry," Jeno said slowly. 

"I wish your parents were more accepting," Jisung added. 

Mark shrugged. "It's fine. I'll be alright. I'm going to college soon anyways." 

The boys all sighed sympathetically; they didn't quite know what to do to comfort their friend. The atmosphere was melancholy anyways; the dread of separating over the school year hung over them, yet they didn't want to speak of it. 

But the sky was getting darker and nobody wanted Mark to get in any more trouble over breaking his curfew. They had to talk about it; or it would just be worse. 

"I don't wanna go back to Lowell," Jisung whined, breaking the silence. 

"Oh yeah, I always forget that you and Chenle have another year of high school left," Renjun responded. 

"You always forget?" Chenle cried. "How could you forget that you're abandoning me to go to school all the way up in Oregon?" 

Renjun chuckled and sighed. "I don't wanna think about leaving you guys," he admitted. "At least all of you will still be in California. I'll be in the rain at Reed." 

"Don't even say it!" Jaemin whined, wrapping his arms around Renjun. 

"You can't even complain at all, you guys are staying in SF with Chenle and Jisung too," Donghyuck said. 

"True," Jeno responded. "We'll still get to bug these kids whenever we want." 

"Plus we're going to CCSF so no tuition. You three are gonna blow your parent's savings out," Jaemin said, gesturing to Donghyuck, Mark, and Renjun. 

"Do you think you guys will transfer after two years?" Mark asked.

Jeno and Jaemin looked at each other. "I dunno. As of right now community college seems like a good fit for us. But I dunno...who knows what life will be like in two years," Jeno answered. 

"We'll either be dead from global warming or still together, that's all I know," Jaemin responded. They shared a secret smile, and Jeno kissed the top of Jaemin's head. 

"And you guys are going to the same school too! That's lucky," Chenle said to Donghyuck and Mark. They exchanged a quick smile. 

"Yeah, it was a complete coincedence too," Mark responded with a chuckle. 

"I told y'all you two were soulmates," Jaemin said quietly. 

"Stop!" Donghyuck whined, but the two of them were beaming all the same. 

"Are you guys sharing a room?" Jisung asked. 

"God no, do you think my parents would ever allow that?" Mark asked. 

"Anyways, we did the housing applications before we even met," Donghyuck added. "But my roommate has a girlfriend who lives off campus." 

"What does that mean?" Chenle asked. 

"That he'll never be in my dorm. So Mark will practically move in."

Mark flushed a little bit at the thought. 

"UC Davis is close by, right? So you can come up and visit?" Chenle asked casually, but the tone of his voice expressed how much he'd really miss his best friend. 

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll come up some weekends. And we'll definitely be back for thanksgiving." 

"You better be too!" Jaemin said to Renjun. 

He gave them all a look. "Duh," he answered. The silence fell upon them again, and Donghyuck squeezed Mark's hand. 

"I'm gonna miss you all a lot," Mark said. "I swear, I...I feel like a different person now. I dunno....it's not like I'm a total badass or anything. Or that I'm not a study-holic nerd anymore...but I...I have more balance. And more friends." 

"Aw Mark! I'm gonna miss you so much too. For real," Jaemin responded. "I'm so, so glad I texted Renjun back in June. Meeting you guys was really amazing." 

"We have a real squad now," Jisung said, puffing on his juul. 

"It's not like we're never gonna see each other again," Renjun said. "I'll be back in November." 

"True, true," Jeno sighed. "It's just not the same." 

"We'll skype and shit," Donghyuck said.

"Don't pout like that Hyuck!" Jaemin said with concern. Mark turned to face Donghyuck and even though he was sad, he couldn't help but smile. 

"Stop pouting; it's too cute," Mark mumbled. Donghyuck pouted more but a smile started to poke out from the corner of his lips. 

"You guys are lit as fuck. Seriously," Jisung said. 

"Wait, Jisung...can we finally see all the fucking drawings of us you did?" Jeno asked. 

Jisung chuckled. "Fuck it, why not..." He trailed off and pulled the notebook out of his bag, passing it to Chenle first. He flipped over and rested his head in the dip of Chenle's back, trying to act casual about it but secretly really nervous to share his passion with his friends for the first time. 

"This is amazing!" Chenle said excitedly as Jisung puffed in his juul, blowing the smoke into Jaemin's face. 

"Stop, that smells disgusting!" Jaemin whined quietly. 

"Chenle, you can be honest with me," Jisung said quietly. 

"No, I'm serious. You have a gift," Chenle said, finishing looking through all the sketches. He twisted around and passed it to Jeno, looking Jisung in the eye. Jisung's skin flushed pink, staring down at the sheet beneath them. 

"Ooh! Does Jisung have a cr-"

Jisung promptly interrupted Jaemin by smacking his arm. "You shut the fuck up or I'll kick your fucking ass-" 

"Chenle was right, this is amazing!" Jeno spoke, interrupting Jisung now. Jaemin leaned on his shoulder and they looked through the pictures together. 

"I'm so glad you did this Jisung, these are amazing," Jaemin said, echoing everyone elses thoughts. 

Finally, Mark and Donghyuck were passed the notebook. They'd been patiently waiting for it, Mark leaning back against Donghyuck's chest and Donghyuck chastely kissing Mark's neck, Mark gripping the notebook so the two of them could look at it. 

His friends had been right; Jisung's sketches were amazing. Every little drawing he did, although maybe not anatomically accurate, captured the entire mood of their days and nights together. Moments that he'd posed for, moments that he hadn't even realized Jisung was drawing them, copied down into a perfect memory of that summer. Yes, most of the drawings were of Chenle, but that didn't change how he'd practically taken a snapshot of each and every one of them. It was a perfect picture of Mark, Donghyuck, Renjun, Chenle, Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung in that era, who they were and how they lived. Yes, Mark had done a lot of things this summer, both good for him and bad for him, mistakes and miracles. But it was a summer he couldn't possibly forget; a summer he couldn't possibly regret. 

"This is really amazing, Jisung," Mark said softly, passing him back the notebook. 

"Promise?" Jisung asked. 

"Of course," Donghyuck answered with a smile. Jisung grinned shyly and put the notebook back into his bag, again resting his head on Chenle's back. Chenle played with the grass, and Jisung stared up at the sky, which was slowly growing darker. Again, there was a beautiful colorful sky, the perfect sendoff for a special summer. 

Renjun sighed and released a dramatic, loud groan. "Curfew," he groaned at the end of it. 

"No!" Jaemin screamed, tackling him in a hug. Jeno just laughed and watched them with his gentle smile. 

"I don't wanna go either but I'd rather you didn't break my bones!" Renjun yelled and Jaemin got off of him, laughing loudly helping Jeno stand up. 

"Do we really have to go?" Chenle asked quietly, uncharacteristically sad. 

"You'll still have me," Jisung answered. "And those bitches," he added, pointing to Jeno and Jaemin. At that, Chenle released the tiniest of laughs, and everyone felt a lot better seeing Chenle less down. 

Mark sighed and stood up, hugging all of his friends tightly. He couldn't believe that he was really leaving the next day, that his parent's car was already packed and they were gonna drive off, and his life would never be the same. It made him too sad for words, tightly wrapping his arms around all of his friends, in the way he was never quite comfortable with before. They respected his silence and responded with it, Chenle swallowing his words back. 

He hugged Donghyuck last of all. 

"Don't be sad," He mumbled into Mark's ear. "You'll see me tomorrow." 

And he was right. Maybe one part of his life was ending, but another was going to begin, with Donghyuck by his side. He couldn't be too sad about that; he couldn't view this as the end. He had to view it as the beginning. 

"Check up on Chenle while I'm away," Renjun whispered into Mark's ear as they hugged a second time. Renjun darted his eyes to the younger boy. "Make sure he doesn't do anything...stupid." Now, Renjun spared a glance at Jisung. Mark laughed and Renjun gestured for him to shut up. 

"Alright, alright," Mark answered with a smile. 

"My bus is here!" Donghyuck suddenly yelled. 

"Bye!" Everyone screamed loudly, enough for the other people still in the park to turn their heads. 

"See you tomorrow Hyuck!" Mark yelled. Donghyuck ran over and stood on his tip-toes to give Mark a kiss on the forehead, before running down the hill to catch his bus. 

"Tomorrow, baby!" Donghyuck yelled back as he was running, turning around to give Mark that grin he could never get used to and waving. Mark flushed pink, thinking with smiling eyes what was waiting for him out there in the future. 

Maybe, possibly, despite leaving everything behind...he couldn't wait. 


	12. epilogue

The previous afternoon at Dolores Park felt like a lifetime ago. The long drive down to UC Davis, coupled with the extended time stuck in a car with his parents, buying school and dorm supplies, and physically hauling all the stuff up to his room had left Mark exhausted, to say the least. Luckily his parents were helpful and not combatitive, helping him arrange all his things. He'd met his roommate too, a giant by the name of Lucas, who'd seemed loud but sweet. He'd already left to go check out campus though, and that left Mark alone with his parents. 

Someone knocked on the door and Mark and his parents looked around confused. 

"It's Hyuck," the outside of the door said, and Mark's face bloomed into a grin. Even though his parents were there, Mark desperately needed some of Donghyuck's love right now. He bounded over to the door and threw it open, his happy face morphing into shock when he saw two adults flanking his boyfriend. 

"Oh, are you busy? It's just that my parents really wanted to meet you," Donghyuck said. 

"N-no, it's fine. Come in," Mark said, letting the three people into the room. 

Noticing Donghyuck's parents, he refrained from any physical contact, instead opting for a polite smile. "It looks....just like my room," Donghyuck said, and they all shared a chuckle. 

"So you must be the infamous Mark Lee," Donghyuck's mother said, walking over to shake Mark's hands. "I've heard so much about you." 

"And you must be his parents," Donghyuck's dad added, and everyone shook everyone's hands. 

"I-I'm afraid we didn't get off to the best start," Mark's mother said shamefully to Donghyuck. 

"It's....it's alright," Donghyuck responded. It wasn't alright in his view, but he didn't know quite what else to say. 

To Mark and Donghyuck's surprise, their parents quickly began a conversation, overcoming their awkwardness. Jokingly, they discussed the love lives of their sons, and Mark's parents, who were at first extremely tense, had begun to loosen up. 

Mark and Donghyuck shared a hand squeeze and a smile. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright. 

"Shit," Donghyuck mumbled under his breath, looking down at his phone. 

"What?" Mark asked with concern. 

"Jisung got grounded. The school called his parents because they caught him juuling in the gender neutral bathroom." 

"Seriously? It's only the first day!"

Donghyuck nodded and sighed. Maybe everything wouldn't be alright. But that was okay. 


End file.
